A/N: Just a reminder that this fic is based off the song "Small Bump" by Ed Sheeran, and if you listen closely to the last couple lines, you'll know where this chapter is headed.
Please be advised that this chapter contains a birth scene, including some details people may not like to talk/think about. There is also some violence in this chapter.
Viewer discretion is advised.
The couple arrived in the Fire Nation after an easy journey on Oogi's back. When they arrived, Izumi was looking very pregnant and confided in them that she was ready for her pregnancy to be over.
"I can barely walk. I feel like I go to the bathroom every 5 minutes. And my back is constantly sore," she complained one evening. "I'm just ready to meet this little guy or girl. I think it has been long enough at this point." Tenzin and Lin laughed, but still tried to console her.
"I'm sure the baby will be here before you know it and you'll have a whole new set of things to complain about," Lin chuckled.
"That, or you will be really distracted with figuring out this whole parenthood thing," Tenzin offered.
"Wow thanks guys. You sure know how to cheer up a pregnant lady," Izumi deadpanned.
A few days later, Izumi's labor had started. Lin, being a steadfast and loyal friend, did not leave her side while she labored and helped in any way she could. The labor had been going on since the night before and Tenzin tried to keep himself occupied but did not stray too far from the delivery room in case his wife needed him for anything. He spent most of the time with Zuko and Izumi's husband, Daichi. They played some Pai Sho, drank tea, and read books while they waited to hear the news that the baby had arrived. Tenzin was about to leave to go meditate near the turtleduck pond when he saw Lin exit the delivery room.
"Lin!" Tenzin called out to his wife. She did not stop or turn in his direction. He noticed a worried look on her face and that she was clutching her abdomen protectively. He wondered if she felt sick and was going to vomit, so he immediately ran down the hall to catch up with her.
"Lin, please wait for me!" he begged, reaching out to grab her and stop her. He spun her to face him and he studied her face. She was definitely worried.
"Is everything okay? Is Izumi all right?" he questioned.
Lin nodded and said in a quiet, shaky voice, "Yes, she and the baby are safe. I just need a minute to myself is all."
Tenzin sighed in relief and said, "If you're sure. Let me know if I can do anything for you." He let his wife go with a peck on the cheek. He waited in the same spot and watched her retreating form disappear from view.
Lin wandered around for a while not really taking in her surroundings. She was very shaken up after watching her friend give birth to her firstborn son. It had been a very long, painful labor and there were times when she was scared for her friend. Izumi had felt defeated on a few occasions and wanted to give up during the process. Lin had overheard one of the midwives quietly commenting to another that if the labor had continued for much longer it was possible they would have to go in and pull the baby out, putting both mother and baby in grave danger. When Lin let her mind picture that scenario she blanched and almost excused herself from the room. She assured herself it wouldn't come to that though. She would do everything she could to lend her strength to Izumi and help her deliver the baby safely.
When the Royal Physician announced it was time to deliver the baby, Lin grabbed Izumi's hand tightly and whispered, "You got this," to her lifelong friend.
Izumi smiled weakly back and said, "Thank you. Now, let's get this over with." Lin watched as her friend mustered every last ounce of strength to bear down and push the baby out without any assistance from any tools.
"It's a boy!" the doctor exclaimed once the baby was out. He handed him over to one of the midwives to clean and dress before giving the baby to its mother.
"Congratulations! You did it!" Lin cheered her friend on. Izumi squeezed her hand with only a fraction of the force she had used during the delivery. Shortly after the baby arrived, blood started pooling around her friend's legs, staining the white linens on the bed. Lin looked over at her friend and noticed she was rather pale and very sweaty. She looked over at the doctor who looked a little concerned, which alarmed her.
"We're not out of the woods just yet," the doctor announced, beckoning for one of the midwives to come and help. The midwife who was wiping the baby stopped what she was doing and rushed over. She saw the blood and immediately got to work. The midwife started to massage Izumi's stomach while the doctor tried to absorb some of the blood. Lin stepped back and watched in horror as a very large, bulbous object slid out of Izumi. The doctor caught the sac in a bowl and handed it to the midwife to examine.
After looking at it and flipping it over, the midwife declared, "This isn't all of it. We have to help her." Lin watched as the doctor got up and took over rubbing Izumi's stomach. The midwife rolled up her sleeve, grabbed some oil from a table, and covered her forearm in it.
"This is going to feel uncomfortable, but try to keep relaxed, Your Highness," the midwife declared. Lin continued to watch from her corner of the room as the midwife slid her arm up inside of Izumi, a look of concentration on her face. Izumi gasped when the woman entered her and scrunched her face up in pain.
"Breathe slowly, it will help," the doctor ordered. After what felt like an eternity, the midwife pulled out of Izumi, another dark red blob in her hand.
"That should be it," the midwife told the doctor, "I think we're clear." The doctor nodded and patted Izumi on the shoulder. Lin looked at her friend, tears were welling up in both their eyes. A sob escaped Lin's throat and she bolted from the room, not wanting to make Izumi feel any worse than she already did.
Lost in the memories of what just took place, Lin blinked away tears that had started welling up again. She looked around as her vision cleared and noticed she was no longer on palace grounds. The gate must have been open, and she had walked right through it because she now found herself in the middle of the high street of the Fire Nation capital. The street was still fairly busy, despite the late hour of the day. Lin guessed they were mostly people returning home from a long day's work. She saw a sign for a nearby park and decided to go visit it, hoping it would be a little quieter so she could collect herself better before returning to the palace and celebrating with everyone.
She finally came across the park as someone was lighting the lanterns that lined the pathway. It was winter time, but since she was in the Fire Nation, the air was not freezing, but there was still a chill. Lin wrapped her arms around herself as she walked through the park. She wished she had brought a shawl to wrap around herself to keep out the chill. The park was quiet, the only other person she noticed was the firebender who was finishing up lighting all the lanterns. It was quiet and peaceful, the perfect atmosphere for clearing her head after the jarring events from earlier.
Lin never really thought about giving birth. She hadn't really been close with or known other women who were pregnant. Sure, she remembered her mom having Su, but she was only 6 when that happened. She wasn't there to witness all the pain and blood involved with bringing new life into the world. And if she thought about it, she realized that no one ever really talked about it either. Well, if they did talk about it, they certainly didn't talk about all the gory details. Lin battled with the positives and negatives of this situation and was engrossed thinking about what her own impending delivery might be like now that she had seen one up close and personal.
Lin was so lost in her head that she hadn't heard the figure approach her from behind. He struck so fast that she didn't even have a chance to defend herself. A series of quick jabs to her pressure points paralyzed her and blocked her bending. Chi blocking she thought immediately, remembering the stories of Ty Lee and the Kyoshi Warriors. Her eyes widened and a scream got stuck in her throat as her body crumpled to the ground. Luckily, she fell on her side and not directly on her stomach.
"How dare you try to undo what Fire Lord Sozin worked so hard for?" a deep, male voice spat at her. Lin raised her eyes as far as she could and saw a dark figure standing in front of her. The person was wearing a cloak with the hood drawn to cover their head and face thanks to the shadows cast by the lanterns. "He eradicated the airbenders for a reason and the only way the Fire Nation can return to its glory is for them to stay gone," the figure continued as he began to draw lightning from out of nowhere. Lin's eyes widened realizing what was about to happen. She felt so useless because she couldn't move to defend herself, defend her baby. All she could do was lay on the ground and wait for the pain. Tears were streaming down her face as she felt the electricity course through her body, the majority of the pain in her abdomen since that's where the man had directed the lightning.
It felt like an eternity, but really the man had only been in front of her for a few minutes. He disappeared in the bushes just as quickly as he had appeared, leaving Lin on the ground in an excruciating amount of pain. Lin writhed on the ground as electricity still coursed through her body, causing her muscles to spasm all over. The last thing she remembered before the world going dark was feeling a warm, wet sensation between her legs.
Tenzin had been pacing in the royal palace for the last several minutes. Once they had realized Lin was missing, he felt frantic, worrying for her, as well as the baby. Zuko had convinced him to stay at the palace in case she returned while he and a search party went out looking for her. Despite the years of meditation, Tenzin had never felt more impatient than he did now. He could be on his glider, using the aerial view to his advantage to find Lin faster, but instead he was told to wait here.
"Master Tenzin!" a servant shouted, running towards him. Tenzin raced over to the servant, eager to hear the news.
"Come quickly," the servant managed to say between breaths, "They found her." Tenzin's eyes lit up at the great news. They had found Lin and brought her back to the palace. He followed the servant to the room they had been staying in while visiting the Fire Nation. Tenzin had a huge smile on his face when the doors were flung open, excited to see Lin again. The smile quickly disappeared when he saw her laying on the bed, unconscious while the Royal Physician and a midwife he recognized from Izumi's birth earlier were fluttering around her.
"Lin?" Tenzin called out to them, "What's going on?"
"Master Tenzin, I think it would be best if you waited outside for a few minutes more," the doctor ordered.
"But," Tenzin tried interrupting.
"Leave, now," the doctor ordered again, glancing at the servant who brought him here, imploring him to shoo Tenzin out. The servant read the expression and pulled Tenzin out of the room, shutting the doors behind them.
"What's going on? Why was the midwife there?" Tenzin interrogated the servant.
The servant shook his head and responded, "I'm not quite sure. The Fire Lord should be here momentarily to explain."
Just then, Zuko appeared in the hallway and called out, "Tenzin!"
Tenzin looked over to the aged firebender and saw the grief in his face. Panic had set in then. Zuko was usually a stoic man, rarely showing any emotions unless they were strong ones. He knew something was wrong when he could read the Fire Lord's expression.
Tenzin gulped, "What happened?"
Zuko drew in a deep breath then explained, "Some of my guards were questioning people on the high street if they had seen Lin. Some woman said that she saw someone who looked like Lin heading towards Lu Ten Park which is tucked away off one of the side streets. When we heard that, the woman's friend mentioned that the lantern lighter of the park lived on the way there. We checked with the lantern lighter and he confirmed that he saw Lin, walking alone in the park as he was doing his job that evening. He said the park was empty other than her. My guards and I continued to the park, expecting to find Lin wandering the park or sitting on a bench, but when we got there… Tenzin, you may want to sit for this next part…" Zuko hesitated before continuing his story, noticing the horror stricken look on Tenzin's face.
Tenzin slid to the floor, nodding for the Fire Lord to continue. Zuko slid down to sit next to him and continued, "We found her on the ground along one of the paths, unconscious with blood pooling around her. There were no wounds that we noticed upon immediate inspection, which made us act fast. I grabbed Lin and ran her back to the palace while some of my guards searched the area for anyone suspicious. One of the guards noticed a set of footprints in front of Lin that looked like they belonged to someone fleeing the scene of a crime. I'm so sorry this happened, Tenzin. I promise you that I will do everything in my power to find who did this and serve justice."
Tenzin didn't respond. He rubbed his hands over his head, trying to imagine what could have happened to Lin and figure out why there was blood around Lin if she wasn't wounded. Something clicked in his head and Tenzin gasped, "No!"
"Tenzin?" Zuko asked.
"It's the baby, isn't it?" Tenzin looked in Zuko's eyes, his vision blurring as tears began to pool there.
"I think it might be," Zuko whispered dejectedly, looking down at the ground not wanting to watch Tenzin cry.
"That's why there was all that blood. We lost the baby," Tenzin said the words out loud, making the pain feel more real.
Just then, the doors to the room opened and the Royal Physician appeared, clearing his throat, he approached the two men who were still seated on the floor. "Fire Lord Zuko, Master Tenzin," he bowed to the two men and then crouched to their level, "I'm afraid I have terrible news."
Tenzin met the doctor's eyes and asked, "We lost the baby, didn't we?"
The doctor nodded dejectedly. "Yes, I'm afraid so," he confirmed.
"And Lin… is she…?" Tenzin couldn't bear the thought of asking what he was about to.
"She is stable for now," the doctor explained, "After closer inspection, it seems like she may have been attacked with lightning. She has some severe burns on her abdomen. I'm afraid all the electricity caused her muscles to spasm, which in turn caused trauma to the uterus, causing the unborn child to become detached, and no longer able to get what it needed to survive." At this point, Tenzin let out a soft cry as he openly sobbed. Zuko reached over to put an arm around his shoulders in comfort.
Zuko nodded at the doctor, "Thank you. I think that's enough information for now. May we go see Lin?"
The doctor got up and bowed to the men again, "Yes, you may go in. Things should be cleaned up there. Lin is only resting now. She is going to be very sore all over for a while, so I gave her some calming tea to help keep her relaxed as her body recovers. I'll be back to check on her in a few hours." The man backed away, leaving the two men in the hallway.
"I know you might have a lot of questions, but they'll get answered in time. Go and be there for your wife," Zuko urged Tenzin.
Tenzin, still crying openly, managed to stand up on his own two feet and head into the bedroom. He crossed to the bed and gently sat on the edge. The tears were making it difficult to see, but he was able to find Lin's hand and grab it, grazing his thumb over it.
Lin's eyes opened slowly and squinted over at him. "Tez," she managed to whisper before a sob escaped her throat.
"Shhh," he hushed, "Don't talk right now. I'm here, just relax. Everything is okay now." He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her temple, squeezing his eyes tighter as another sob rippled through his body.
"Hold me," she whispered, half asking, half demanding. Tenzin silently acquiesced and molded his body around hers, holding her close. The couple cried together in bed until the tears and sadness felt so heavy, they could do nothing but fall asleep, hoping the morning did not come too quickly.
A/N: So, the lyrics I was referring to in my first note were:
" 'Cause you were just a small bump unborn for four months then torn from life
Maybe you were needed up there but we're still unaware as why."
-Small Bump by Ed Sheeran
Now that you read this difficult chapter, I hope you don't hate me and will continue to leave comments/kudos and finish the fic! There are only 3 more chapters and I should be posting them sooner rather than later!