I do not any of the characters or A:TLA for the remaining chapters also. Please read, enjoy and review. Thanks!
Chapter 2: Proposition
Zuko woke up with a really good feeling. He guessed it had to do with the awesome dream he'd had of Katara and himself. It had been a week since he tried cheering her up by offering to be a donor. And he resolved he'd set his plan in motion today. He took a quick shower, got dressed in his favorite red shirt and black pants. He finished the attire off with a black pair of loafers. Casual and suave was the look he was going for. And he did look good, even if he said so himself. Climbing up he knocked on Katara's door and waited patiently. He had to admit he was a bit nervous though. But now was not the time to chicken out.
"Hey Zuko. How's it going. Coming for breakfast?" she asked. She seemed a little gloomy. So he quickly stepped inside, hugged her from behind and kissed the top of her head as usual. "Hey Tara what's wrong? You don't have to cook if you're tired or don't want to." To which he got a small jab in the ribs. "So you can accuse me of starving you of the best pancakes in Ba Sing Se?" He chuckled and took a seat on one of the stools around the island in her kitchen. "Actually I didn't only come for the pancakes." Katara raised an eyebrow and continued with the cooking which she'd already started when he came in. "I want to be your donor." Katara turned and glared at him. "Zuko, this isn't a joke ok. I don't think you get how serious this…" He quickly got to his feet and took a step towards her, the look in his amber eyes dead serious. "I am as serious as a heart attack Tara." he said quietly. "I really want to do this. I can't think of a better mom for a child than you, and it'll be an honor."
Katara mulled this over and turned back to her cooking before the pancake got burned. "You understand you won't have any claims on the child?" Zuko had given this a lot of thought and responded evenly. "Yes I know. But I would like to be a part of his life and help raise him. You're my best friend. And I live just downstairs. I could be a father to the child without any strings attached." (she didn't need to know his plans right this minute, did she?). "And we'll do everything just how you want it done. Not that I'd mind doing it the natural way." He teased to lighten the mood. Dishing out the food Katara asked for time to think about it. "You know this is not exactly what I had in mind. But I think you would have taken on quite a significant role in the baby's life either way. So it could work. But we're doing this artificially, ok?" He beamed at her. "Ready when you are Tara!"
They decided to go see her doctor in the afternoon. Zuko drove Katara in his burgundy Mercedes ML. Reaching the clinic, they went right in and took the seats Dr. Hahn offered. "Hi Dr. Hahn…." Katara started only to be interrupted. "I keep telling you to call me Yagoda." She said with a warm smile. "Ok Yagoda it is. This is Zuko. He's my prospective donor." she said with a slight blush tingeing her cheeks. "Hello Dr Hahn." Zuko greeted the doctor. "I thought it would be a good idea to come in and see if there are any tests that needed to be gotten out of the way." The doctor looked from Katara to Zuko with shrewd eyes and smiled. "Alright then, let's get things rolling. If you'll follow me."
She led Zuko to the lab where she had a batch of tests run on him. Katara waited patiently in the waiting area while Zuko was at the lab. She pulled out her cell phone and called Toph. "Sugar Queen! Where have you been hiding? More importantly how've you been? The twins have missed you! Any news for me?" Katara smiled and said quietly "I'm hiding at the clinic at the moment. My prospective donor getting a few tests run on him." Toph would have squealed if she wasn't Toph. But settled for a "Yippee! Oh wait! How come you're telling me this now when you're already at the clinic? No scratch that. What do you mean you're at the clinic and he's getting tests run on him? I thought donors came in plastic cups or something!" After a moment's silence Katara sighed and told Toph the whole story. "Alright! I told you he'd be a good choice. But then he proposed it? Wow. How did that happen?" Katara didn't know the answer to that either but just voiced her worries to her friend. "What if it messes things up? We're business partners besides being friends!" Toph just chuckled "Relax Sugar Queen. I have a feeling everything will work out." Zuko finally came out and told her the doctor wanted to see them again in her office. She told them she'd get the results tomorrow and phone them so they could start preparing for the procedure when Katara would be in her fertile period.
Katara tried to not let the whole idea of carrying Zuko's baby make her awkward. She wondered why she even thought of it like that. It was going to be her baby. Zuko was just helping her. He wasn't going to claim any part of the baby unless she let him. He drove in silence. Which wasn't too out of the ordinary. She just felt like his silence was speculative. She decided she wasn't going to let this affect her relationship with Zuko. Dwelling on it so much wasn't going to help the situation any. She turned to him when they got to their building and asked, "This isn't going to affect us negatively right? I don't want to lose my best friend." Zuko took her face in his hands and looked deep into her blue eyes and whispered "It'll only make it better. I promise." She was surprised. He usually didn't speak to her like this. But she tried to take it in stride and whispered her thanks and got down.
She got ready for bed that night imagining what it would have been like if things were different and she and Zuko were in love and a real family. But thinking about it she couldn't do better than Zuko for her child's father. He was a very determined person who never gave up without a fight. He had worked tirelessly along with her to make their café the success that it was today. He overcame the trauma of his childhood with his uncle's help and was probably a stronger man for it. His parents having divorced when he was young. And his father inadvertently causing an accident that gave him his scar due to neglect. He was a gentle soul even though he tried to cover it with his playboy attitude. She could do a whole lot worse. And she knew it would probably be better for her peace of mind and definitely for Sokka's knowing how he felt about the whole having a baby on her own deal. Not to mention he was really gorgeous. Even with that scar covering the upper left half of his face. She just knew their child would be beautiful. She drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.