February 6th, Middle Ring, Ba Sing Se

Katara had never felt more anxious her entire life.

Not during any of her exam weeks before. Not during any school or college presentation. Not even in her hospital internship, when she helped perform her first surgery ever. Nothing could ever be compared to the maddening waiting of the damn pregnancy test.

It's not like she had anything to worry about. She was always careful and safe. The test was just a confirmation. Just to be sure. It was going to be negative, of course. But that didn't keep her from being nervous.

Her sister-in-law Suki and best friend Toph sat beside her, all staring at the test at the table, concerned. They sat in a circle in the living room, silently. Katara looked away from the plastic thing as if it would simply disappear if she wasn't looking. She tried to focus on the sound of her neighbors upstairs or the cars on the street to keep herself from going crazy, but it didn't work. She shoved the timer out of Suki's hand, clutching it so hard her knuckles turned white.

Just three minutes , Katara thought. She was just three fucking minutes away from possible life-changing news. And yet, it felt like forever.

Her eyes followed the countdown, and her mind began to wonder. She didn't want her life to change at all. Everything was going perfectly. She had just gotten a new renowned job as a doctor, and she was doing well at it. She had finally moved out of the apartment she shared with Suki and Sokka, which was particularly great. Her new apartment was just a block away, so they wouldn't miss each other, but also have their personal space. Her new salary was very good, and she was having spare money. Her life was going so well that she was even having luck in love again.

She checked the timer again. Two minutes. Katara's heart started beating faster and she squeezed Toph's hand a little bit too hard.

"Ouch!" She yelped.

Katara muttered an apology, almost inaudibly, and let go of her friend's hand and the timer, realizing how ridiculous that situation was. She had no reason to be that nervous; She didn't even know the result yet. Though, of course, she wasn't pregnant. She had just thrown up a couple of times that week, but that didn't mean she was necessarily pregnant. It was probably just a bug. Food poisoning, perhaps. Katara had had lunch in a very suspect food truck on Wednesday, so, yeah, it was definitely food poisoning. Also, she was on the pill. She knew from her own job experience that it was an effective contraceptive method.

No reason to worry, right?

Suki checked the timer this time, with a tense look on her face. "Sixty seconds".

Katara was back in her panic mode. Her mind was a hurricane and her heart started racing. She clutched onto Toph's hand again, but this time, the friend didn't even complain, and she squeezed her hand in return. She said a quiet prayer in hopes of calming herself, but it didn't work.

"Thirty seconds"

She whimpered. Fuck, fuck, fuck...

"Five, four, three, two, one." Suki finished the countdown, but no one moved for a moment. Toph elbowed Katara, encouraging her to go on, so Katara reached for the test, but decided against it, and threw it to Suki.

"No. I can't look. You tell me" She melted into the couch, trying to fuse herself with the pillows.

"Ew! Your pee is in this thing." Suki cringed, but then recomposed herself, and checked the result. Her eyes went wide, and she gasped. She gave an anxious look at the girls and slowly nodded.

Oh, Spirits.

For a moment, Katara felt like the floor was caving in. She stared blankly at Suki's face. She heard her heartbeat in her ears and felt her breathing stop.

"So, what is the result?" Toph asked. She hadn't gotten the memo from Suki's stare.

"Positive" Suki answered in a low voice.

Katara didn't believe it. She took the test from Suki's hand and looked at it too.

"Are you sure that the second line means positive?" She screamed, searching for the manual of the test, that confirmed it. "Oh, shit." Her breaths became more and more uneven. She refused to believe it. "I don't buy it! There is no way I'm pregnant."

"Well, the test is positive." Toph made a point.

"Oh, hell no. This is a mistake. T- These tests fail all the time." She shrugged. "Did you know there is a high risk of false-negative results? I've seen many pregnant patients come into the hospital without knowing they were pregnant because they took one of those cheap, unreliable drug store tests." Her words came out in such a rush that it was even hard to understand her. Her stomach turned upside down and she felt nauseous.

"But this isn't a false-negative. It's a positive. False positives are rare, right?" Suki argued.

"Than- Than this is one of the rare occasions. There's something wrong with the test. I - I can't be pregnant." Katara sat on the couch, squished in between the girls. They tried to comfort her with a hug. Suki started brushing her hair to calm her down.

"Look, Toph can go to the drug store very quickly and buy as many pregnancy tests as you want. Then, you can take a blood test to know for sure. Is that okay?" Her voice was calm and soothing, and Katara felt her breathing slow down.

"Okay." She whispered, still very tense, trembling a bit.

Toph squeezed her hand before she stood up, and she went through her wallet. "How many tests do I buy?"

"Five or six. Just to be sure." Suki answered.

Toph nodded, then made her way out. "Be right back."

Katara looked at the window outside. It was such a beautiful day outside. The birds were chipping, flying through the clouds in peaceful bliss. She heard the sounds of the cars on the streets. The sunset sky was particularly gorgeous that afternoon, painted in a colorful pink and orange tone. She found it ironic how perfect of a day it was. Her life was almost falling apart, about to change so drastically, but the sky was still there, big and majestic.

Katara stared at the view from up there. Living on the 6th floor of the building, she had a pretty nice view of the Middle Ring from up there. She watched the flow of the urban life, hoping it would take her mind off the damn test. The Middle Ring Hospital was visible from her window, a few blocks away. Her street was also full of shops and restaurants, and it was located very near a city park. She scanned her eyes through the establishments, and they landed on the Jasmine Dragon, a little tea shop, where she and Aang had planned on going that night.

Aang. Oh, no.

He was the man of her dreams. Aang was funny, polite, kind, cute, handsome, a gentleman. She could go on for hours about all the qualities he had. They had a date planned that day, but she had already canceled it in the morning because she was feeling very nauseous. Katara had been having the time of her life with him, and he had been the best boyfriend she's had in a very long time. Ever, maybe. But they had met only a month ago, and now... Well, she might be carrying his baby.

'No, Katara, ' she thought to herself. 'You are not pregnant. It's just a stomach bug. Everything is going to be fine. He doesn't even have to know about the pregnancy tests. It was a mistake, and you are not pregnant. Not right now.'

She sat down on the couch and curled up in Suki's lap as if she were a cat. Her vision was a little fuzzy, and it all felt like a very weird dream, like images passing through her mind.

After a couple of minutes, Toph finally arrived.

The five new pregnancy tests were lying in the center table: Positive, positive, positive, positive, and positive.

"Congrats, mama!" Toph tried to lighten up the mood in the room, but Suki elbowed her. "Ouch."

Katara felt numb. In disbelief. It felt as if her brain was melting, and she couldn't process what those second red lines meant.

"Well, there is still a chance I'm not pregnant. Maybe it's a problem in the whole line production of the tests. What if I call the company's office?" Suki let out a long sigh and squeezed Katara's shoulders.

"Katara, let's face it: You are pregnant. There is only, like, one in a million chance that this could happen. One false-positive is rare, but six?" She argued, hoping to talk some sense into the girl.

"But still, guys: This is a mistake. I am on the pill. I take that pill every single day. There is just no fucking way..."

"Maybe you missed it one day," Toph said.

"No. No way. I didn't miss it." She walked to the kitchen, where she kept her pack of pills and grabbed a notepad- She was about to do some math to prove her point. "Look, I just bought this package. It comes with exactly twenty-eight pills. I bought it on the 20th, so I already took eighteen and there have to be ten pills left, see?" She counted every single pill left "Nine, ten, elev- Oh, shit."

Eleven pills.

Her mind was in a hurry, trying to figure out when she had missed it, or the last time she had had sex. The image immediately came to her mind.

She had known Aang for exactly two weeks when it happened.

They had first met at Toph's first birthday party, in a fancy dinner, that her parents had thrown her. Aang and Katara talked through the night, and conversation flowed so, so easily. He was so handsome, wearing a suit and trying to act formal. He had saved her from a boring conversation with some Earth Kingdom lord in the dinner, so she immediately fell for him. He was just such a gentleman, and so funny. She got lost in his eyes so easily...

She learned he was a history teacher in a high school and that he was working towards a new job in a distinguished boarding school. He was also a very good volleyball player, and he had a dog called Appa, a rescued Old English Sheperd.

After the party, they called and texted each other every day for those two weeks. He made her heart flutter, and he made her very happy. Ever since they met, Katara always had a grin on her face.

So, it was an understatement to say that Katara was excited about that night. They were all going to celebrate Toph's birthday again, for real this time. The Beifong stated that the fancy dinner didn't really count, because it was too boring.

Again, they danced and talked all night. Katara watched him in awe, amazed by how incredible he was. On this occasion, he wasn't dressed fancy. His short black hair was kind of messy, but she loved it like that. He wore a white t-shirt that fit him nicely, making his muscles stand out, and his aviator jacket had a nice smell. His smile, which hypnotized Katara the most, was just so beautiful- and kissable.

Her mind was a bit fuzzy from there because they had been drinking in the nightclub. She recalls walking down the streets of Ba Sing Se with him during the AM, joking and sightseeing; Being cold, and using his jacket to keep her warm; Having a proper dinner in a 24 Hour Gas Station. But mostly, she remembers what happened after he took her home.

She had insisted he slept in because it was already too late for him to go back home alone- which was just an excuse. After all, they had just walked the whole city in the middle of the night. And, as they sat down on the couch, they kissed.

It was sweet and gentle at first. Aang's fingers caressed her cheeks and her arms hung onto his neck. Fireworks exploded on her insides. The lights were low in the living room, which smelled like cherry blossoms. Then, the kiss became ardent, passionate. He traveled his way to her neck, nipping at her most sensitive spots. Katara rushed into getting his shirt out, while they both stumbled on their way to the bedroom.

The next thing she knows, they're waking up together on the next morning. She was still asleep when he first awoke, so he had kept playing with her hair, and planting little kisses on her shoulders.

He had to leave in a rush when he suddenly remembered he had a job interview- which, she found out later, was great. She made him some toast to eat in the way and tied his tie when he was on his way out. He kissed her goodbye and sprinted through the streets not to be late, which Katara found adorable. It had been such an amazing morning.

But she had to forget the pill, hadn't she?

Katara was taken out of her memories when she heard the doorbell ring. Suddenly, Toph had a smile on her face.

"Who is it, Toph?" Suki asked.

"The pizza guy. Alright, let's take a break from all the drama and babies and stuff. Who wants some pizza?" Toph walked excitedly to the cabinet to get some napkins. Suki sighed in disapproval and walked to the entrance, and Katara felt her stomach make a knot at the mention of the food. Then, she heard Suki exclaim from the front door.

"Oh, shit!"

Katara stumbled her way to the door to see what was going on.

Standing at the doorway was a beautiful, tall man, with jet black hair and a big smile on his face, which faded after hearing Suki's reaction. He held a package of soup in his hands.

Aang.

She felt her stomach growl in disapproval and rushed to the bathroom, leaving him there with a very startled look on his face.