Katara watched excitedly like she had so many years ago as the image of her home came into sight. The city was magnificent. It was still partially under construction but with the waterbenders' assistance it was progressing well.
She sighed as she entered the city and all the townsfolk stared at her. Some of her pupils from waterbending lessons ran up to her in greeting, obviously not put off by her new position in the Fire Nation.
She was happy to see their own palace come into view and her father waiting at the entrance for her. She ran up and hugged her father who tried to force back tears.
"Katara, welcome home." She set her stuff aside in her room and went to go visit her Gran-Gran. Her grandmother unused to the fineries of luxury refused to stay in the main portion of the palace but rather took resident in a distant wing. When she saw Katara she cried and Katara cried.
"Oh Katara, look how you've grown." She looked at her grandmother in shock. She did not think she had changed and when she looked in the mirror she saw the same girl as she had been before the council. What could possibly have changed?
Her Gran-Gran seemed to sense her confusion and traced her palm along Katara's cheek.
"You are a woman now, Katara." Katara again saw her reflection and she understood what her grandmother meant. Her face and body maybe look the same but her facial expressions and the way she held herself was different. She wasn't a girl any more. She walked confidently as a woman. She smiled at her grandmother uncertainly and looked away.
Her Gran-Gran talked of many things such as the progress of the city, how the children in training were doing. She did not know much, so Katara took the opportunity to walk around the city with her brother Sokka. He showed her the new additions and the new people who had come to be trained as waterbenders and warriors. He himself oversaw most of the training and she even took the opportunity to walk in on the waterbenders training.
The young ones were excited to see her and begged her to show them some complicated moves. She complied after being dragged into it. She stood next to a fountain of water and began using her famous water whip. Her skills were a little rusty from lack of use and it made her upset that it would be so. She promised herself she would not so lightly reject her waterbending when she returned to the Fire Nation.
She went back to the waterbenders every day and practiced with them sometimes offering a bit of advice here and there. The instructors welcomed her expertise and she saw with satisfaction that there were some girls who had taken an interest in the warrior aspect of waterbending even though both boys and girls were required to train in both fighting and healing. Even in the Northern tribes they had changed their customs to allow equal training. Some girls excelled in fighting, which made her proud of her legacy.
Katara had been with the water tribe for three weeks and she found it odd she had not received word from Zuko during all this time. She wondered if he had truly been that angry with her letter and every time she tried to shrug it off she found herself somehow still thinking of him and actually missing him. She had not seen him in well over a month and it made her feel guilty to have abandoned him so.
One day she found a message waiting for her. She saw the Fire Nation seal and quickly opened it but was surprisingly disappointed that it was from Uncle Iroh and not Zuko.
She read over it quickly. Mostly he talked on and on about how state affairs were going, just for idle talk and then she skipped ahead until she saw the last paragraph of the letter which was about Zuko.
Iroh seemed rather vague on his nephew's state of affairs and she wondered what Iroh was hiding. At the end he asked when she was coming back to the Fire Nation very bluntly and offered his love and signed it.
She wondered if Iroh had written it for some reason other than to ask her when she was coming home. She had never known him to be vague on matters concerning his nephew. She felt suddenly ashamed that she had not been planning on returning for another few weeks. By that time she would have been away for a little over two months. She thought again if Iroh's letter was in a sense telling her that Zuko actually missed her.
Once again she found herself faced with her feelings for her own husband. They cared for each other sure, but was it more than that? Why was she so afraid to love him and he her?
Katara shook her head and wrote a reply letter suggesting that she planned to return in a few weeks time. She didn't receive a reply letter as she had told them Sokka would be traveling with her so they did not have to worry about scheduling for transport for her. The time alone would give her a chance to try and figure out her own feelings.
It was the last week of her stay and Katara felt depressed at the fact that she would be leaving her home again. It seemed she was always leaving her home, over and over again. Like the first time when she had left with Aang. It seemed so very long ago in her mind.
She walked through the streets with Sokka trying to memorize everything about it. She found she had been a little queasy that morning but she figured it was a bit of nerves at having to leave her home again soon. As they walked through the streets the sun rose to noon and she felt something happen to her.
Her body suddenly became excruciatingly warm and then she felt chills run through her and goose bumps crawl up her arm. The major body temperature change caused her to faint in shock and she felt her brother's arms around her as he tried to talk to her and then her eyes shut.
Sokka worried over his sister, she seemed to take on a fever, her skin was hot to the touch and she was sweating but her body shivered from the cold and she was delirious.
He had taken her to Gran-Gran and a few waterbending healers were summoned just in case but they had their hands full trying to keep her warm. It seemed like as the days passed and Katara's health did not waver that she had caught something worse than a fever. Then after days of trying to feed her and his grandmother conversing quietly with his father he figured they were preparing for the worst. He felt his blood drain as he tried not to think on what would happen to him if he lost Katara.
He watched her toss and turn and carefully wiped the sweat from her face and neck trying to keep her somewhat cool but still warm enough.
"Zuko!" She whispered in delusion. His ears instantly perked and he was about to turn and get Gran-Gran but then she began to mumble something under her breath and he was curious to find out.
"It's cold, please make me warm." He stared in horror. Could it be his sister had been lying to him when she said she only respected him? Her voice was soft and sweet and in need and she was trying to reach out to Zuko. He felt angry and betrayed all at once and then he heard her whimper slightly. He felt his anger melt.
Why should he be angry his sister is happy in her relationship? Shouldn't he want her to be happy? He did. He suddenly felt relief as if the thing he had fought so hard against had finally been defeated. He only hoped his sister's trust in her new husband was well placed.
Sokka thought back to himself. She would have been married for half a year now and yet it seemed so short a time ago. He went over to his sister and pushed the blankets higher on her body. She seemed to stop tossing and turning for a bit and he exhaled in relief.
Then one day her fever seemed to break and she began to recover. When she finally regained consciousness she found Gran-Gran's wrinkled face regarding her with relief.
"Here sit up Katara and drink." Some warm tea went to her lips and she drank obediently. Her head pounded and her entire body felt weak. She struggled to just barely sit up and felt her body give out and fall back against the bed.
"Do not move, you are still very weak." She lifted a hand to her pounding head.
"Gran-Gran what happened?" She scrunched her features together as her head began pounding harder.
"You had a terrible fever, child. You've been delirious for the past three days." Katara shot straight up with more strength than she thought she had.
"What? Three days? But there is still so much to be done. I need to pack and…" Her grandmother gave her an indignant glare and shoved her back down on to the bed.
"Don't you dare! You were sick and you need time to recover. Your father has already written to the Fire Lord of your condition and that you should stay another few weeks just to take precautions." She moaned thinking of her extended stay. She knew she would probably be detained to her bed for most of it and she did not want to think about how Zuko would react to her extended stay.
"Don't worry your father did not reveal all." Her grandmother said again. Katara sat up and eyed her suspiciously.
"What do you mean Gran-Gran?" Her grandmother looked over to her with a mischievous grin.
"Oh don't you dare play coy with me, Katara, we both know you are with child. No use hiding it from me."
"What how? Who told you?" Katara demanded. Her grandmother almost whacked her with her wooden spoon as she had been known to do when Sokka and Katara were children.
"I have been around a long time child. I know what to look for when a woman is with child. You aren't very far along though are you? I'd say maybe almost 2-3 months. Strong little bugger though. Most women would have miscarried after a sickness such as that, especially with their first child." Her grandmother mumbled some more in the background and Katara lay back down in her bed.
She had suspected she was pregnant but had been wary in case she did lose the child. She knew she was almost three months along and she was surprised and grateful that she had indeed not lost her baby. She sat there and thought of the child growing inside of her and wondered if it was alright inside of her. It had to be, she ventured or else she would have miscarried by now. She sighed in relief that she didn't. She didn't know what she would do if that happened.
She had definitely grown mildly attached to the idea of being a mother and having a baby to take care of, someone to love her no matter what. Thoughts of her own mother swarmed in her head and she found herself wanting to be just like her.
She stayed in bed for a few days before she finally became too aggravated to stay put and had to get up and walk around. Sokka of all people seemed the most relieved at her recovery and something else, she couldn't quite determine the reason for. He seemed more attentive and caring of her and she didn't know why.
"Okay Sokka, what is up? Why are you suddenly treating me so different?" She thought she saw the signs of a blush run up his cheeks and she planted her hands on her hips waiting once more for his answer.
"I don't know Katara. I thought I almost lost you. You were so sick and I felt scared. I stayed and watched you sometimes and you began to talk in your sleep. All you ever talked about was Zuko. Maybe I guess I realized I had been too harsh on you. You deserve happiness Katara and I'm glad you found it." She slumped her shoulders. She couldn't believe she had spoken of Zuko in her delusions. She felt her face grow hot as she thought of all the things she could have possibly said. It felt like something caught in her throat but she was determined to know the answer to her questions.
"What did I say?" Her voice sounded meeker than it had been meant to. Sokka looked up at her and grinned a bit.
"Well I know now you aren't as innocent as you look." He grinned and she punched him in the shoulder.
"Ouch! That hurt. I was just kidding. Most of the time all you said was his name and how cold you were." She laughed at him in relief. He sounded just like the old Sokka from all those years ago and it made her feel good to think some things never change.
"So Katara, am I really going to have a niece or nephew?" He suddenly asked and she perked up at the suggestion. She bit her lip a little unsure.
"Well I guess." She felt a little awkward talking about babies with her brother. So maybe some things do change.
"Does he know yet?" She stopped walking and looked back to Sokka who had phrased his question so seriously.
"I haven't really gotten the chance to tell him." She whispered. Her brother nodded his head and they kept walking. They talked of many things, especially their mother. Sokka was convinced Katara was going to be a wonderful mother and she could only hope he was right.
She knew eventually she would return to the Fire Kingdom, back to boredom. Back to doing nothing but playing with the turtleducks. She loathed it and longed for it all just the same. She missed Uncle Iroh and the palace and the nasty food. But most of all she missed Zuko.
She had finally settled on the fact that her feelings for him were stronger than she had anticipated. Whether it had anything to do with the baby inside of her or not, she was not sure. She just wanted to tell him how she felt and about the baby too.