Disclaimer: I own Avatar! MWAHAHAHA! In fact, I also own Microsoft, Princess Mononoke, Star Wars— (is knocked unconscious by original creators) …
Original owners: She owns nothing.
SVA: …(comes to) Darn it. Can I at least own Zuko?
Avatar creators: No.
SVA: Young Zuko?
Avatar creators: NO!
SVA: Fine, fine. Can I at least have a turtle-duck?
Avatar creators: …(shrug) Why not?
SVA: SQUEE! (hugs turtle-duck)

Warning: Anyways, yaoi and moodswings and all that jazz that comes with pregnancy.

If you need to leave the world you live in
Lay your head down and stay awhile
Though you may not remember dreaming
Something waits for you to breathe again

--Imaginary (Origin)
--Evanescence

The next morning, they were all jolted awake by a loud yell, courtesy of Aang.

"GUYS! IT STOPPED RAINING!"

Everyone groaned at that, since it was still very early in the morning and no one really cared right then what the weather was like.

"That's great Aang…" Sokka muttered as he pulled Zuko a little closer to him. The rest of the group didn't even bother to answer as they all snuggled deeper under the covers and tried to go back to sleep.

Aang, however, was not deterred. "I'M GOING TO SEE HOW FAR WE ARE FROM OMASHU!" He yelled happily as he opened his glider and took a running leap out of the cave. His only answer was loud groans.

By the time Aang got back, everyone was slowly crawling out of bed and starting to pack up.

"Hey Aang…" Katara greeted in between yawns. "Find anything?"

Aang nodded. "Great news, guys! We're almost to Omashu!"

"Lovely." Zuko commented sarcastically, as he tried to stand up using only one hand. He sighed, though, when he realized it was futile. "Hey! Could someone give me a hand here?"

Sokka quickly came to his aid. "Having trouble?" He teased, smirking as he pulled Zuko up.

Zuko groaned as he swayed a bit from the sudden shift in weight, clinging on to Sokka a bit for support. "Don't start with me, Sokka." He sighed before he placed his bandaged hand onto his bulging stomach and wincing.

"You okay?" Katara called over.

Zuko nodded. "Fine…" He muttered as he massaged his wrist. Katara had managed to heal most of the break, but it was still sensitive. "How far away are we from Omashu?"

Aang grinned as he excitedly jumped up and down. "Not too far! An hour at most!"

Iroh and Zuko exchanged glances at that.

"Perhaps," Iroh began hesitantly, not so willing to destroy the happy mood of the young airbender, "this isn't such a good idea…"

Aang frowned. "But of course it's a good idea!" He exclaimed. "Don't you want me to learn Earthbending?"

"It's not that." Iroh reassured him. "It's just that…" He paused, not knowing how to best put this, "A hundred years is a very long time, young Avatar. Things change, people change. We are in a war."

Aang sighed. "I know, I know, 'and Firebenders are the enemy and being Firebenders, this is putting you both at risk'… But look! Before we get to Omashu, there's this huge forest! We could drop you off there and you'd be safe until I tell Bumi and--"

"I feel that it would be safer if we stayed here—" Iroh began only to be interrupted by Aang.

"But—"

"Aang, listen." Katara interrupted them both, shooting an apologetic look at them as she spoke. "Earthbenders will be bound to patrol the woods near Omashu…even though it is surrounded by huge cliffs on all sides save for one pathway, they don't want to take any chances. Think about it. Iroh and Zuko have less of a chance of being discovered way up here than trying to hide in the woods."

Aang heaved a sigh as he glanced around the group. "Fine…" He muttered in the end. "We'll bring food as often as we can…"

"Thank you." Iroh commented as he relaxed. "Good luck."

Sokka, meanwhile, turned to Zuko. "You'll both be fine?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Of course we'll be! We can fight if any Earthbender comes near here!"

Sokka winced. "Promise me that you'll be careful…and try to avoid the fights?" He paused. "For my sake and the baby's?"

Zuko sighed, giving in. "Fine…I promise."

"On your honor…" Sokka pushed.

"On my honor." Zuko repeated, feeling very much like he was a child again and made to promise he wouldn't do anything bad while the parents were out.

Sokka, however, was pleased. "Good." He remarked, before gently pecking Zuko on the cheek. "Take care."

"For Spirit's sake!" Zuko growled, giving Sokka a little shove towards the bison. "You'd think I was a child!"

Sokka just grinned a cheeky little grin and climbed onto the bison.

This time, the trio opted on flying into the city of Omashu rather than walking like last time. And this time, they were shown into the throne room rather than escorted by guards.

"Ah, Aang! I see you've returned…come back for more challenges?" Bumi asked, before snorting with laughter.

Aang grinned. "Actually, I'm here to learn Earthbending." He paused. "From you, if that's okay."

Bumi looked thoughtful. "You do know that Earthbending is the opposite of airbending? It will be difficult for you to learn…"

"I can do it! Just show me the first move!"

Bumi laughed, before snorting a couple of times. "I don't think you understand Aang. You won't learn Earthbending in one day! It will take weeks…maybe months."

Aang's face fell. "But I don't have months! I need to learn Firebending too!"

Bumi looked contemplative. "But perhaps since you're the Avatar…" He paused. "Do you really want to learn from me?"

Aang nodded. "Please?"

"I suppose it could be arranged…" Bumi stroked his beard slowly as he grinned. "But don't expect me to go easy on you Avatar."

"I won't." Aang said, bowing a bit.

"Good then!" Bumi nodded. "My guards will show you to your rooms."

The trio turned toward the guard, who looked a bit confused.

"Uh sir? Which rooms?"

Bumi blinked. "The guest rooms."

"And where are those, sir?"

"Oh…" Bumi scratched his head. "The one in the hallway with the purple walls."

The guard nodded but paused. "Sir, there are five hundred hallways with purple walls."

"Are there? No wonder I keep getting lost…" Bumi remarked, causing everyone to groan.

"Perhaps they are the rooms looking to the north, sir?" One of the other guards tried, but their King shook his head.

"No, no. Those are the rooms where I keep all my vases… What about the ones in the green hallway?"

"That's the rooms for the guards, sir."

"Oh yes they are! Hmm…" Bumi scratched his head again. "We should really start numbering the rooms too…"

"What about the ones—"

Aang groaned as Sokka slapped his forehead. They were going to be here a while…

"I really hope they come back soon…we've run out of tea."

Zuko groaned as he munched on his third apple. "Finally."

Iroh ignored him and instead plopped down beside his nephew. "You should really eat more, Zuko. It's not good for you to be starving yourself, especially now."

Zuko sighed as he rubbed his stomach with his bandaged hand again. He was getting increasingly hungrier every week but he couldn't be completely selfish… "I know Uncle."

Iroh gently put a hand on his shoulder. "Zuko, we can always get more food. We can hunt, we can fish…but you need the food more than we do."

Zuko looked away. It was tempting, yes, but it just wasn't right to gobble everything up when it took hours to find anything.

Iroh sighed as he squeezed his nephew's shoulder before handing him the sack of food Katara had given them. "Eat it, nephew." Then as Zuko opened his mouth to protest, Iroh cut in. "No but's. Eat. I want it all gone. I want a healthy grandchild for Spirit's sake!"

Zuko stared into the sack. They had another one, but it was smaller. "Uncle—"

"Eat!"

Zuko let out a soft breath before placing the apple beside him and digging into the sack. He drew out some dried meats and slowly munched on them, aware that Iroh was watching him intently.

"I want it all gone, Zuko." Iroh repeated. The boy had always been underweight, but now especially. If he kept this up, then there would be serious consequences not only for the baby, but for Zuko too.

Just then, Yun, who had been sleeping peacefully in between Zuko and Iroh, now raised its head. Glancing around the cave, its ears twitching, the little fox jumped up and began to emit a low growl.

Both Zuko and Iroh fell quiet as they glanced at the fox, then at the cave's entrance. When they heard nothing, Iroh stood up swiftly and cautiously moved to the entrance. But before he even reached the entrance, the earth beneath him suddenly rose up and rammed into Iroh, sending him flying back into the cave.

"Uncle!" Zuko yelled as he scrambled up with difficulty and rushed towards his uncle's side. But suddenly his legs were swallowed up halfway to his knees by the floor. Gasping in surprise, Zuko tried to push himself out but the earth held him tight.

"Well, well, well. Look what we found."

Iroh snarled as he stood slowly, placing himself between Zuko and the five Earthbenders that stood before them.

"The east wing?"

"No, sir. All the rooms are full."

"They are? What do we keep in them?"

The guard sighed. "Well, we currently have 154 extra chairs, 954 extra vases in case we break the ones in the north wing, 8521 silks and other types of exotic cloths, 9142—"

Katara stopped listening then as she sat beside the two snoring boys, braiding her hair.

The five Earthbenders seemed to have been in fights with Firebenders before, because they did not just simply rush at them. Instead, they kept their distance, even though they obviously knew they had them trapped.

Their captain grinned at the two Firebenders, glancing from one to the other. "The famed Dragon of the West, and…" His eyes lingered on Zuko's scar, "…the banished Prince of the Fire Nation."

Iroh said nothing but slid into a defensive stance, ready for anything.

Immediately, the Earthbenders slid into a defensive stance as well, while readying themselves for the offensive.

Iroh, however, did not hesitate. As soon as the Earthbenders slid into their stances, he hurled fireballs at them. The Earthbenders immediately retaliated by blocking the fire with a wall of earth, then sending another wave towards Iroh, trying to knock him down.

Zuko growled in anger as the wave managed to send Iroh flying again. He tried to push himself up, out of the earth's confinements, but it was futile. In the end, Zuko gave up and instead focused all his energy on sending fire blasts towards the Earthbenders. However, that energy did not last long and once Zuko halted for a second, the Earthbenders quickly moved in.

Iroh snarled as he quickly jumped back in front of his nephew, shielding him the best he could. But the Earthbender captain saw this.

Zuko let out a yelp as he rapidly sunk into the floor before stopping. The earth was now up to his knees and try as he might, Zuko could not push himself back up.

"I suggest you surrender now." The captain warned Iroh. "Or would you rather see your nephew swallowed up by the earth?"

Zuko gasped as he fell lower, the earth now up to his mid-thighs. Gulping, Zuko desperately tried to push himself up and wiggle out, but nothing was working. With another gasp, he sank lower, the earth right below his hips. He panicked right then, feeling the earth squeezing him to keep him down. If he sank any lower then that pressure could hurt the baby…

Iroh, too, saw the potential problem. Frowning, he held his hands up in surrender.

"…We also have 8 rooms filled with scrolls…"

"Really?" Bumi scratched his head. "I'll need to remember to take a look at those…"

The guard sighed before continuing down the list. "Yes sir. We also have…"

The Earthbenders were quick to chain Iroh's hands together and lead him out of the cave, down to where their mounts awaited.

The Earthbender captain, however, stayed behind to personally chain the banished Prince up. One reason was obvious; the boy was very important and if he escaped then it would be a great loss. But the other reason…

The captain gently released the earth's hold on the boy and pulled him up, making sure to be cautious just in case the boy got any rash ideas. The teen, however, was pretty calm; allowing the guards to chain his hands and lead him out of the cave. One of the extra Earthbenders also stopped and scooped up the little fox, which had been yipping at them and trying to attack them all the while. But the fox was too small to be a potential threat, so the Earthbenders had just ignored it. Now, the Earthbender quickly dropped the fox into a small bag and tossed it over his shoulder.

Once outside, the Earthbenders simply bended the rock underneath them to slowly slide down the rocky mountain side. Then, the captain helped the boy onto an awaiting ostrich-horse before hopping on himself and urging the animal into a run.

The teen sometimes glanced behind them wearily, checking to see if his uncle was still there. The captain, meanwhile, frowned a bit as he kept one eye on the teen just in case. He couldn't help noticing the way the boy's cloak had twisted around him when he had tried to fight. It almost seemed as if the teen's stomach was…bulging. The captain's frown deepened. He had heard many stories from his father and others who had fought Firebenders directly at Ba Sing Sei. Stories about how it was pretty common to find a male Firebender pregnant. And the boy was really way too thin for him even to consider being just fat…

That was the second reason, really. If his suspicions were right, then he did not want his men accidentally doing something that would cause the boy to miscarry… Earth Kingdom laws were pretty harsh when it came to miscarriages; although from what he had heard, they were nothing compared to Fire Nation laws…

The captain kicked the ostrich-horse, urging it to go faster. Better play it safe than sorry.

Katara was just starting to doze off when a guard came running in, causing all three of them to jolt awake.

"Sir! I'm sorry for disturbing, but we've just managed to apprehend two very important Firebenders!"

Bumi cocked his head, interested. "Did we now?"

"Yes sir!" The guard stated proudly. "They're just being escorted into the city!"

Aang, Sokka, and Katara exchanged worried glances, but kept quiet, hoping that it was not who they think were captured.

Bumi grinned. "Oh, and who are they?"

"The Firelord's brother and son!"

The trio froze at that. This was not good.

Bumi's grin widened as he clapped his hands, but from the corner of his eye he watched the trio's expressions with masked interest. "Excellent! Bring them in here immediately!"

The guard quickly bowed and rushed out of the throne room.

"The Firelord's brother and son…" Bumi repeated to himself while sneakily watching the trio. "I wonder what they are doing so far from home?" He snorted in laughter to himself.

Aang bit his lip. "Bumi?...what exactly are you going to do with them?" He asked cautiously.

Bumi turned to look at them, smiling his crazy old smile. "Throw them in jail of course!" Then with an afterthought, "and maybe invite them to tea…"

"But you can't throw them in jail!" Aang burst out before he could stop himself.

"Oh?" Bumi cocked his head, looking at them in faint interest. "And why not?"

"Because…because…" Aang didn't know what to say and he ended up looking towards his friends for help.

Katara sighed. "Because, your highness, they're our friends."

The guards' mouths dropped at that, while Bumi blinked then snorted with laughter.

"Friends! How did you ever manage that?"

"Long story," Katara cut in. "But the point is--"

"—Since they're our friends, you can let them go, right?" Aang asked hopefully.

"Wrong!" Bumi retorted, then looked apologetically at Aang's shocked face.

"What? Why not?" Aang cried. "What about Kouzon? Have you forgotten about him? He was a firebender and he was our friend—"

"—a hundred years ago." Bumi finished, looking sorrowful. "Listen to me Aang. The world has changed in a hundred years. Kouzon was a good friend, but when the war came about, we lost contact. He became one of the thousands of faceless Fire Nation soldiers that wiped out your people and led attacks on the rest of the world, Aang." He paused then, before continuing. "This war has been going on for a hundred years, and I personally am tired of fighting. I wish these were the old days, Aang. I really do. But the reality is, is that there is a war and the two people we have captured may be your friends, but they are the brother and son of the enemy. They have vital information that could be key to winning this war, Aang. I am sorry, but I cannot let them go."

Aang stared at the floor, silent, ignoring the pitying glances from his friends. Deep in his heart he knew this would happen, but still he'd hoped… "You're not going to…torture them, are you?"

Bumi sighed suddenly feeling burdened by his duties as King. Why did the world have to change so? "I'm sorry, Aang, but if they do not cooperate…"

Aang cast his eyes down again, not knowing what else to do. Guilt rose up in him as he thought about how the two Firebenders had tried to warn him about this happening and how he had refused to listen…

He felt Sokka beside him shift. "Could you...at least…not torture Zuko?" Sokka asked, wincing at how lame it sounded, even to him.

Bumi blinked, cocking his head as he now focused on the young water tribe boy. "And why not? Who else knows the Firelord better than his own son?"

"True, but…well…you see…" Sokka shifted his feet, not knowing how to explain. Katara sighed, finally taking pity.

"Zuko's pregnant." She explained simply, causing the guards' jaws to drop down even further.

Bumi lifted his eyebrows a bit before letting out a roar of laughter. "Oh really now? And how did that happen?"

"It's a long story…" Katara informed him, only making Bumi laugh louder.

"Who's the lucky father?" Bumi suddenly asked, looking intently at the three of them. Katara and Aang shifted their eyes to glare at Sokka. Bumi was silent for a minute then snorted with renewed laughter as he figured out what happened.

"Fine then, I won't touch the Prince." Bumi swore, still snorting a bit before turning serious. "But as for his uncle…"

The trio sighed and nodded as they reluctantly accepted the situation.

Bumi grinned at them a bit longer (mainly at Sokka) before turning back to the guard. "Take them to the guest rooms now."

The guard sighed. "We…never established were they were, sir."

"Oh we didn't?" Bumi blinked before thinking. "If the rooms aren't in the north wing, or the east…and they certainly can't be in the south because we don't have a south wing, then they are in the west!" Bumi clapped his hands together. "Take them to the guest room in the west wing!"

The guard nodded, looking relieved. "Yes sir."

Whew. Sorry that took so long to write.

SVA