VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE! PLEASE READ!

Hey howdy hey folks. And welcome to another chapter of Beneath the Earth.

Due to some... complications, this may be the last chapter I post before disabling anonymous reviewers. :S I'm scared – you guys make up the majority of the reviews for this story... which is actually quite sad. GUYS, GET FRIGGING ACCOUNTS!!!! Please? :D I won't disable it till next chapter goes up unless the complications get really out of control. Hopefully they won't. And hopefully my wonderful anonymous reviewers will be able to continue reviewing by making accounts (hint hint!!!).

I'M SO, SO, SO, SO, SO SORRY GUYS!!! D:

Alright, in slightly brighter news, schools going good :) Not really, I've been put into an all girls homegroup and it stinks of powdery, soapy flowers. Really not my thing and it's starting to give me a headache... oh, and I think I'm failing math already :P Not that I care – but my mum sure does! :S

Well, the good news is that I finally got this chapter up. :D

Remember, 5 reviews or no update. ;)

Enjoy...

18. Talk About Deep

After a few days, it wasn't like Mai hadn't noticed Katara over in the corner, gagging and looking ready to vomit during the mornings. She was also having those sort of moments during and after they had eaten – though she thought that was fair enough, seeing as they were being served cold slops. And although she seemed to be having a hard time with eating what they were being given, she seemed to me more hungry than usual. But she was also having a hard time sleeping, Mai had noticed. Constantly waking up and needing the bathroom a little more often than should have been normal.

She was in the corner again just then, apparently trying to keep down the slops they'd been given for lunch. And it was only a moment ago as she had tried to get up and slip over there without drawing attention from Mai, had Mai noticed the dead giveaway that put all of the pieces of the puzzle together. It made Katara's strange patterns make perfect sense.

The giveaway was the bulge in her belly, which Mai had somehow been missing. And Mai knew straight away – Katara was pregnant.

A feeling of numbness coursed through her body. She and Katara had hardly spoken a word the whole time they'd been trapped there. Their longest conversation that hadn't consisted of a short-lived catfight was when Mai had returned from nearly being raped by Shang. And that conversation was also very short-lived.

But this was not something Mai had been expecting.

A few days ago, I was being such a bitch to her and basically trying to break her up with her husband... and I pretty much succeeded in that. But ... how could I do that? She's pregnant... if I'd known... oh Spirits above! What have I done?!

A few minutes later, Katara had decided that her lunch was staying down and came back to sit around and do nothing as she and Mai had been doing for who knew how long.

Mai was too speechless to say anything for the moment and all she could do was try not to stare and keep a straight face...

"So, do you know where she is?" Sokka asked. After a little while, Suki had come up with the idea of calling Appa so that Nyla wouldn't have to carry everyone and Sokka summoned the bison with the whistle he'd found in the stable Appa had been staying in at the palace. So by that point in their journey, Jun, Kalo, Sokka and Suki were riding on Nyla's back, and Zuko, Ty Lee, Toph and Momo were on Appa's back, and the bison was flying lowly over the land – low enough so that if Zuko needed to say something to Jun or Sokka, or vice versa, they could do so with ease, just by shouting out to each other.

But there was not so much communication needed between the passengers of the two different animals and most of the ride was silent during that night and the hours of the morning that followed.

"No," Jun repeated for what felt like the millionth time to the irritating Water Tribe boy. She tried to keep her agitation out of her voice. "Nyla can smell her though and will take us to her – I can't read her mind."

Sokka sighed and Suki shook her head, wishing he'd just learn some patience and not repeat that question every half hour. Kalo resisted the urge to glare back at the boy and gently stroked Jun's arms as they rode on.

Toph was asleep in the saddle before sunrise, and that left Zuko and Ty Lee virtually alone up there – if you didn't count Momo, snoozing in Ty Lee's lap as she stroked him.

Ty Lee was lost, off in her own little world. The frown that had creased her soft brow so severely the night before when she had left the little apartment after her little dispute with Zuko had not left her face and her eyes were unnaturally dark, their normal spark of light and joy gone. She stroked the lemur in her lap gently, smoothing his fur along his back. Momo was basically purring, but she seemed so frustrated, so hardened – so hurt.

It wasn't as if Zuko hadn't noticed either. When he'd watched her leave the room the night before, he could tell that what he'd said had hurt her. A lot. She had taken it to heart and it was cutting her up. Zuko couldn't tell for sure exactly why, but he knew anyway. And it was beginning to trouble him.

Ty Lee was the spark of light – the smile when everyone else frowned, the beam of hope when everyone else had given up, the cheerer upper-er when everyone else was down. She was the optimist when everybody else was sceptical. Who she was created and kept balance in the group when it needed it most.

And considering the situation they were in at that point in time, they needed her to be like that. And she wasn't. And it was driving Zuko up. The. Wall.

"Ty Lee?" he sighed at last, no longer able to stand the brooding silence of her troubled mind. "Are you alright?"

Her eyes lifted to meet his and the frown almost disappeared for a split second. But then it came right back and Zuko felt his stomach twist uncomfortably because of the dark look he was met with.

"I'm fine," she grumbled. She dropped her eyes back to Momo, still asleep in her lap. For a few moments, they stayed silent, and then Zuko spoke again.

"No, you're not. If you were, you would be acting normal. And you're not acting normal."

"How am I not acting normal?" she demanded, offence making its mark in her voice.

Zuko smirked and answered coolly, "You are being silent. Something is very wrong, because on a normal day, you don't shut up," he said, matter-of-factly.

The faintest hint of a smile twitched at the right corner of her lip, but it disappeared just as quickly as it had found its way there.

Sighing again, tiredly, Zuko pushed himself around the saddle until he was sitting next to her and then he slung an arm around her in a gesture of friendship.

"Ty Lee, listen, I know you don't like what I said last night about Mai. It was pretty cruel. And even though it was true, I shouldn't have been so insensitive towards how you might feel about hearing it like that from me. So... I'm really sorry that I upset you."

Zuko was not one who made apologies lightly – he did not like to admit that he had done something wrong and he wasn't fond of admitting just how much he really cared about the feelings of the people around him. Therefore, whenever Zuko apologized about something, it meant that he had thought it over deeply and decided he just couldn't live with the guilt.

Seeing Ty Lee sad and broody was like seeing Katara angry, or seeing Mai constantly and hyperactively excited about something or seeing Toph act like a girl – it was a very unnerving sight. And after awhile, it could become quite unbearable and made Zuko feel as if he needed to correct whatever had gone wrong to make it so.

So there he was, apologizing to Ty Lee.

For a few moments, Ty Lee said nothing. Then, her head drooping and her bottom lip quivering, she whispered, "I just can't believe Mai would do something like that..." And at last, the tears that she had been holding in since last night burst forward and her whole body shook with sobs. The acrobatic woman buried her face in the soft, furry body that was asleep in her lap, rousing Momo from his slumber and causing him to chatter and flail his little limbs about in panic as he tried to escape the wetness of her tears. But it was pretty useless.

Zuko managed to pry her grasp from the lemur and Momo glided off to sit on Appa's head, where he hoped he'd be safe. The Fire Lord pulled Ty Lee into his arms and hugged her, patting her awkwardly on the back and whispering, "There, there," into her ear. One thing that everyone knows about Zuko is that he is not so great with handling distressed girls and he absolutely hates it when they cry. So having Ty Lee sobbing into his shoulder wasn't exactly the ideal situation for him to put himself in.

But it was worth it.

After a few minutes of her crying, Ty Lee pulled herself together and smiled at Zuko.

"I'm sorry, I just find it so sad that Mai had sunk so low that she would try and do something like that. I mean, you and Katara are only just married, and she's already tried to interfere and break you guys up!"

"I know," he nodded, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"And... it's just... hard," she stressed, clenching her fists. "She's my best friend, Zuko. I love her no matter what. But... I just don't want to believe that she'd do something like that. I mean, I know you're not lying – I know you're telling the truth about what happened. But..." She shook her head, lost for words. Then, she pressed the palms of her hands against her face and attempted to stop the flow of her tears.

"I understand what you mean," Zuko murmured. "She's your best friend and no matter what she does, you'll always love her. It's hard to accept it when you hear someone else saying something horrible about her because of what she's done – trust me, I know the feeling."

Ty Lee frowned at him, "How would you know the feeling?"

Zuko looked at her seriously, as if she'd just asked the dumbest question ever. "My Father," he reminded her gently. "And Azula."

Her expression softened immediately and she nodded, "Sorry... it sorta just slipped my mind."

"It's ok," he shrugged. "It happens."

Ty Lee sighed and leaned into Zuko, his arm still around her. "I'm sorry for acting funny all this time. I'll try to accept it a bit better from now on."

"I'll try to remember to be a little more sensitive about how you feel," he chuckled, hugging her softly.

After a little while, Ty Lee drifted off to sleep, her mind much more at ease now that she'd talked to someone about how she was feeling. Zuko drifted off after her and Momo joined them again, sitting on Ty Lee's lap.

That was it. Mai needed to talk to her about it. It was driving her insane! She had to say something. And for the past few hours, she'd been trying to think of how to start the conversation. She had made several attempts, all which had failed – she'd casually asked some very non-personal questions, but the conversation had died out very quickly.

So, creating a lead-up conversation wasn't working.

With a sigh, Mai decided one thing was for sure – if she was going to do this, she'd have to say it straight out.

As awkward as it was, she sucked in a breath and looked at Katara.

"So... you're pregnant." She said it as casually as she could.

Katara's eyes flittered up to meet hers and she stared at her for a moment before nodding, "Yea."

Mai nodded, slightly relieved that she had finally gotten that fact out in the open.

"And it's Zuko's?" she enquired.

"Yes," the waterbender replied stiffly. Her eyes went very cold very quickly and her voice gave away the fact that the question had offended her. "Who else's would it be?"

Mai struggled for words, opening her mouth without being able to form sound to emit.

"No one else's... just... I dunno..." she shook her head, feeling very stupid. Then, with a sigh, she pressed on in her bored voice. "How long?"

Katara pressed a hand to her abdomen and looked thoughtfully to the ceiling of the cave.

"A few months now... three? Maybe four now?" A smile was tugging at the corner of her lips. But if faded away pretty quickly. "I was really happy when I found out. Suki is pregnant too – the news was our wedding presents to Sokka and Zuko." She sighed heavily, "I guess I'm not as happy about it now as I was then." Her words were cold and bitter and Mai felt that sting of guilt penetrate her heart.

She tried to sound oblivious, "Why's that?"

Katara's eyes pierced hers, "Why do you think?" she hissed in a low whisper.

Mai frowned sadly to herself and looked at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"No you're not!" Katara shouted, standing up. Her harsh voice echoed throughout the cave. "You're not sorry – you wanted Zuko for yourself so you went out of your way to get him."

"But in that I failed. I am apologizing for trying," she said, looking at the feet of the girl standing in front of her. "If I had known you were pregnant, I probably wouldn't have tried at all. The only reason I tried at all was because you were leaving anyway, otherwise I would have lived with it."

"What are you talking about? I wasn't planning on leaving the night I married Zuko, but you went and slept with him anyway."

"We didn't sleep together on purpose on the wedding day," Mai insisted, arching up and looking the girl in the eye. "Katara, I swear on my life that neither of us did that on purpose. We were set up – I'm sure of it. The last thing either of us can remember before waking up like that is blacking out. Someone put us there on purpose – it was all staged!"

"You ruined everything!" Katara cried, tears of fury streaming down her face. "Zuko and I were going to live happily ever after..." she sobbed, dropping to her knees. "We were going to have a baby together..." She placed a hand on her belly again. "We were going to be happy."

"I'm sorry, Katara," Mai whispered, tears of her own starting to trail their way down her face. "I'm so sorry..."

Katara shook her head, "I didn't want to cry again... finding you two together like that just hurt so much... all I wanted was to get away from it all..."

"We didn't mean to hurt you, Katara," Mai said. "The only time that I actually tried to break you guys up was the next day when you came walking into the gardens – I started kissing him as soon as I heard you. And he did try to get me off of him. And he and Toph were so angry with me afterwards, because I'd really done it – I'd crossed the line. And you were definitely leaving." Mai shook her head. "It was so selfish and stupid of me. What I wanted was to get you out of the way so that I could have Zuko for myself, but what I'd done could never have made him mine..." she chuckled bitterly to herself. "It's like Toph said: he'll never be mine. All I did was make him hate me and make him eternally unhappy by making you leave."

Katara's fists were clenched so tightly that her hands were numb. The only thing that made her unclench them was when she noticed that her nails had dug into her skin and she had begun bleeding. With a sigh, she relaxed her hands and blinked away the angry tears which blurred her vision.

Mai was sobbing. She looked so angry at herself, for a number of reasons. One being that she had been so horrible in her intentions towards Zuko and Katara, and two being that she had become such an emotional wreck over the whole thing.

With a sigh, Katara understood, though quite indignantly, that Mai really was sorry.

"I'm sorry, Katara..." she sobbed. "I'm so sorry..."

Her heart softened, "Mai..." Pushing aside the resent she felt towards the girl for everything, she pulled the girl into a hug and rubbed her back. "It's ok... I... I forgive you."

Katara couldn't quite believe she was saying it. She couldn't quite believe she was meaning it. But it was true – despite everything, Mai really was sorry, and Katara really was forgiving her now that Mai had seen and understood the extent of the damage she'd caused and shown how remorseful she was.

"Zuko still loves you," Mai said after she had pulled herself together. "He is really upset that you were going to leave."

Katara nodded silently, "He begged me not to go when I was packing."

Mai nodded, "When he comes to get us out of here, let him know you still love him." Mai looked the Fire Lady in the eyes. "Because I know you do."

Katara slowly smiled, "I will." Then, "Thank you, Mai."

The girl shook her head, "Don't thank me – all I did was make a big mess even bigger."

"No, I mean... thank you for waiting until I was ready to forgive you."

Mai smiled very uncharacteristically, but Katara smiled back nonetheless.

"We friends again?" Mai asked.

Katara nodded, "Definitely."

Naw, so what did you all think of that? Sorry that it was a little bit fluffy – it had to be done. Anywayz, I liked it – tell me what you all thought of it in your wonderful reviews :) (hint hint).

And a reminder to my anonymous reviewers – make accounts so that you can continue reviewing after I disable anonymous reviewers. And I need five (5) reviews before I can update. I disable anonymous reviewer when I post the next chapter :(

And everyone go and check out my little one-shot "To Lose the Earth" – dedicated to the Haiti earthquake victims.

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