Hey all! Here's chapter 2! I hope you enjoy, and please comment! I know it's long, but if you read it, I'm sure you won't be disappointed! Thanks to all who've favorited me and are waiting for this. Here you all go!

3 MONTHS LATER

Aang dodged another set of attacks. He earthbended a giant wall as to stop the soldiers and to give the revolutionaries time to retreat. He couldn't believe that they were losing. As fireballs came over the wall, he pushed his soldiers back. "Retreat!" he yelled, as he waterbended a whole troop out. The water whip was like second nature to him now. He took out 50 troops, and then used his glider to get back to the bunker. "It's no use," he said to General Po, the leader. "We can't take them all out. I've got one more trick up my sleeve, but they'll come back."

"Try it, Avatar," the general said. "You're our last hope. Almost half of the troops are out wounded. Please. If this doesn't work, we need to pull back to Ba Sing Se."

"Then make a run for it, general," Aang said. "But keep one or two soldiers for me. The Avatar state is powerful, and I'm a lot stronger than I used to be, but it can still take a lot out of me. I need them to get me if I fall."

He closed his eyes, breathed in, and his tattoos glowed. His eyes glowed as he opened them. He used a waterbending bomb, and an air cyclone, then flying boulders, and fire from every direction. That stopped most, but they were still advancing.

Suddenly out of nowhere, one firebender shot at Aang, hitting him in his leg. He cried out in pain and anguish and let out a blood-curdling scream as he lost concentration, losing the Avatar state. His eyes and tattoos stopped glowing. The two soldiers ran to protect him as both the fire melting his flesh and the Avatar state weakened him. One last firebender threw a spear at the fallen Avatar, barely scraping his neck, but breaking off Katara's necklace instead. His vision went dark as he collapsed from the pain and the Avatar state, but he felt the ground shaking from the earthbenders protecting him. He slipped into darkness.

Sokka was getting packed. He had hardly gotten any sleep the past three months, trying to get every warrior the Northern Water Tribe had ready, as well as training the younger ones for war. After that, he had sent troops all over the area, calling for any warriors at hand. He also had issued a decree calling all small towns and villages to get to the bigger cities, so they would have an advantage in number against the troops. Then the rest of the time, he was making mass weapons, along with all of the other metal workers and blacksmiths there. He was ready for home, as he never liked being at the Northern Tribe since Yue had died. Not that he was thinking of her every time he saw the moon, but he needed to move on, and the girl he really loved was going home to the Southern Tribe too. But all he could think about now was not falling off of Storm on the way home from fatigue.

The chief walked up behind him as he was fixing the saddle. "Thank you, Sokka, for gathering our people together again. When we strike, the Fire Nation will fall, forever. I hope your journey back is a safe one."

"Thank you, sir," Sokka said as he bowed. He got on Storm and the polar eagle stretched her wings. "Spread the word," Sokka finished. "Let all who are with us stand on their guard!"

Storm leapt into the air and took off, for she had so much energy built up from not flying, that Sokka was sure that she'd get home in 3 days, not 1 ½ weeks. He let the eagle have her head, and he started to snore on Storm as the eagle got to a soaring altitude.

Toph gathered many people together. She had formed tunnels under the ground where at least 4 or 5 towns could meet and discuss. She gathered them, gave orders, and showed them plans. She gave dates and checkpoints. She got a ton of help from her old Earth Rumble 6 sparring buddies, who in turn got more and more to join.

She had worked tirelessly, and she was ready to go home. "To Sokka," she thought as she packed her things and smiled. She couldn't see, but felt like he was standing right next to her. As she got a ride to the harbor, she then thought of her next plans: get on a ship, spread the news, and go home. She closed her eyes as the carriage rumbled closer to home.

Zuko was having the hardest time. He was trying to find the resistance in the very nation that started the war. But his Uncle helped him and soon his secret army was ready at any moment. He was ready to go back to the Southern Tribe, to see his friends and family. And even though he always shivered there, he felt calm and at peace there more than anywhere.

He was hitching a ride home by ostrich horse and a ship, with protection given to him by Uncle. So, as he waited in the harbor for his private ship, he thought of the plans to come.

Aang opened his eyes. White. He blinked a bit and then looked around his room. He was in some kind of infirmary. He leaned on his elbows and pushed himself up. The room around him was small, with one window and an open door. There were voices outside of his room, which he guessed to be the other patients and doctors. He noticed that he was still in his clothes, but his boots were lying in the corner, and his pants were cut off at the knees. He didn't remember what had happened to him until he tried to stand.

His feet touched the ground, and he started to lean his weight, when searing pain and burning heat traveled all the way up his left leg. He cried out in pain as he fell to his knees, grabbing the leg. The pain was so intense that he clenched his teeth and tears came from his eyes. He groaned and screamed. A doctor rushed in and helped him to his bed. "Boy, be careful. You must rest. You've got quite a burn there."

Aang winced. "How bad is it?"

"Well, your flesh was burned down to your bone on your left leg. That burn goes from your ankle to your knee. It burned through your boot, and your clothing caught fire. It wouldn't go out, so it kept on burning your skin. Avatar Aang, you weren't very lucky. That'll be one bad scar. For now, just rest. We'll give you something to numb the pain and we'll change the bandage later. But you'll probably have a small limp the rest of your life. Rest now." He stopped at the doorway. "Do you need anything else?"

Aang felt for Katara's necklace. The last few months, when he was under stress or missed her, he would hold it tight in his hand and he would get immediate peace. As he felt for the cord around his neck, he only felt his skin. His eyes widened. "Where's my necklace?" he cried, looking everywhere. "Oh, don't worry," the doctor said. "One of the soldiers who saved you grabbed it as the other carried you to safety. He told me he would give it to you as soon as you were awake. I'll go get him now."

The doctor left and Aang relaxed on his bed. His burn throbbed painfully. He missed Katara. The one time she wasn't here, she couldn't heal him, take away his pain, make him feel at peace. He wanted to go home. He wanted the rest and not think of the war. He knew that he should have already been home by now. The others were probably on their way. They would wait for him. And he wouldn't come. He sighed and turned to face the wall.

A while later, a knock was heard on the door. "May I come in?" a voice said.

"Sure," Aang answered as he sat up. An Earth Kingdom soldier about his age walked in. "You okay? We tried to get you out of there as fast as we could. And I picked this up as Jin carried you." As he spoke, he took out the pendant and its cord. He handed it to Aang. "Your girlfriend?"

"Wife," Aang said as he kissed the pendant and put it around his neck and into his robe. He held his hand over it on his heart. "I miss her," he whispered. Suddenly he changed the subject. "What's your name?"

"Tahn," the soldier replied.

Aang bowed. "Tahn, I thank you for saving my life. And thank you for returning my necklace." He held out his hand. "I have a new friend," Aang said as Tahn took it. "You get better," Tahn replied. "We all need you out there to lead us. See you on the battlefield."

"Yea," Aang said. "See ya, and thanks again for saving my life. I'd be happy to return the favor."

Tahn laughed. "Okay," he said as he left.

Then the doctor came in. "Are you ready for us to change the bandage?" he asked. Aang closed his eyes and sighed. "Okay."

The doctor took a medical blade and put it slowly on the bandage that covered the bottom of Aang's foot to above his knee. Slowly the doctor started to cut it open, but the tiniest movements of the bandage on his burnt flesh made Aang want to die. He looked everywhere but the bandage coming off, and after what seemed like hours, the doctor finally cut all of the way through.

"Ughh!!" the doctor mumbled, looking at the wound. Aang knew it was bad; he could feel the heat of the flesh emanating from his leg. He wanted to see how bad the damage was, so he dared himself to look.

He was a strong young man, but he nearly passed out at the sight. He couldn't even believe that that was his own leg! His skin was pink, red, and raw, and it was covered in boiled blood vessels. Blood, fresh and caked, was everywhere. Purple and black bruises surrounded the entire burn, and deep, blood-filled blisters covered the deepest part. In the middle was a huge, solid, blackened, and charred object. Aang's eyes widened. "Is that…my…my…" he stammered.

"That's your bone," the doctor said sadly as he grabbed some bandages. Aang's mouth was wide open. "How…wha…is that going to even heal? I need to save the world! I can't be crippled…I need to leave!" He jumped up and limped on one leg towards the open door, but the doctor grabbed him by the arm. "No!" he said. "If you leave now, you will die by an infection that is already inside the wound. We can treat it, but you need to heal for at least five months here. I'm sorry. But we can't afford to lose the Avatar now."

Aang leaned on the doorway. He looked out and saw all of the other wounded warriors. They were all heroes, yet many would not live on to see victory without him. He couldn't let anyone else down. "Fine," he said, hopping back to his bed. "But please get me some paper and ink, and then a messenger hawk. I need to write someone a letter…"

Katara woke up to the usual sounds of the morning; women cooking, men sharpening weapons, kids laughing and playing. She couldn't enjoy it though. She had felt completely awful the past couple of days, with terrible cramps to the point where she couldn't stand up straight, cold sweats, dizziness, and more. She couldn't even find the problem while healing herself. Hakoda was worried, so he ordered her to stay in bed. So, with her eyes only visible above the many blankets her father put on her, she listened to the morning sounds. The whole gang would be back any day now, and she couldn't wait to hold Aang in her arms again.

An hour passed, and she started to hear the sound of yelling and crying out. "The ship is here!" people kept on yelling. Katara knew it was either Toph or Zuko. She got up slowly, dizziness flowing over her, but she ignored it, covered herself with blankets, and put her boots on. She slowly walked outside, bent over, and watched from afar as the ship pulled into the port.

She covered herself tighter in the blankets as it started to snow, and she shielded her eyes from it. She watched as the crew unloaded crates and boxes. Then a figure appeared through the snow. It walked down the ramp, and Katara knew it wasn't Toph. "Zuko…" she whispered as she started to walk towards him as fast as she could. Then she yelled. "Zuko!" she said, relieved that at least one of her closest friends was safe. The figure dropped his bag of belongings and ran towards her. She stopped as he approached. She smiled with tears in her eyes. "You're okay," she said as her tears fell. He grabbed her in a tight hug. She held on for dear life, even though it hurt her. She winced. But he just leaned into her hug, knowing someone who loved him as real family cared for him. "I'm okay," he whispered. Then he noticed her shaking. He pulled away and looked into her face. She was pale. Her eyes were circled by very dark rings, and they had lost their glow. Her whole face had lost its glow. He started to worry.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You don't look good. What's wrong?"

"Oh, I'm fine," she said, closing her eyes and hugging him again. She sighed. "Just been feeling a little cruddy the past few days. Don't worry, I'm…fi…"

She suddenly fainted in his arms. "Katara!" he cried. He caught her before she fell into the snow. He checked her pulse. It was raspy. He picked her up and a few people came over. "Get Hakoda! Now!" he yelled as he ran her to her tent. He set her down on the bed and covered her in furs. He heated his hands with firebending, trying to warm her freezing limbs.

Hakoda ran in. "What…" he said, breathless. His eyes fell to Katara. "No…What happened?" he yelled as he kneeled next to Zuko. "She…fainted…in my arms," he stammered. Hakoda felt her head. "She's going cold." He closed his eyes. "Aang needs to come back. We're going to lose her…" Tears filled his eyes. "My little girl…"

"What do you mean, lose her?" Zuko's eyes widened. "What about the other healers? They can save her!"

"They tried the day she got sick. Something's taking what she needs to live on. Her severe cramps are her organs shutting down. No one can help her. Aang must come back soon, or…" he trailed off. He stood up.

"I'll stay with her," Zuko said. "I need some rest anyway."

"Okay," Hakoda said as he took one last look at his daughter before leaving.

Zuko felt tears coming out of his good eye. They ran down his face and landed on her hand. He took one of her hands and put it between his. He then kissed it and put it next to his face. "Katara," he said, now fully crying. "Please, we all need you."

That evening, another ship came in. Toph got off and felt, even through ice, who was near her. She ran to Zuko, who hugged her. "Good to see you," he said.

"You too," she replied. "Are Sokka or Aang back yet?"

"No, but they will be here soon," he replied. "Come and get some food. I'll watch for them."

"Hey, where's Katara?"

"She's—uh, resting, for now. You'll see her later."

An hour later, Zuko awoke to a strange thump outside of Katara's tent, because he decided to stay with her through the night. He looked out and saw a polar eagle folding its wings as someone got off. "Sokka's back," Zuko said as he ran out. "He yelled to Toph's tent. "Hey Toph! He's back!"

She ran out of her tent to the tired warrior who was taking off Storm's saddle. He turned around when he heard her coming and she threw her arms around him, meeting his lips to hers. He dropped his stuff and grabbed her, kissing her like it was 3 years, not 3 months. Once they parted, they walked hand in hand back to where Zuko stood. He clapped Sokka on the back. "You need some sleep," Zuko said, studying the worn-out look in Sokka's face.

"Yea, but first, where's Katara? I need to hug her and tell her I'm ba…" he trailed off when he saw Zuko's smile disappear instantly at the sound of her name. "Zuko," he asked, suddenly sounding worried, "Where is my sister?"

"She—she…"

"What?"

"Well, she's…"

"WHAT, ZUKO? SHE'S WHAT?" he asked angrily.

"She's dying, Sokka…"

He watched as the warrior's anger turned to shock. Sokka slumped to his knees in the snow. "What?"

Toph fell next to him. "No,"

"Where is she?" Sokka asked, his voice cracking.

"In her tent. She's resting," Zuko said as he followed the suddenly running Sokka to Katara's tent. Sokka ran as fast as his fatigued legs would carry him.

As he reached his sister's side, he took off his gloves and gently shook her. She was dangerously pale and as cold as ice to his touch. "Katara?" he asked, with tears in his eyes, asking like a young child. "Katara?"

She opened her eyes, recognizing his voice and tried to focus her vision on him. She saw him next to her, his hand stroking her own. Toph was behind him, unshed tears in her blind eyes, and Zuko was on her other side, tears falling down one side of his face.

Katara touched his cheek. "You're back," she whispered, smiling. "And so are you Toph. I'm glad you all got back safely. But where is Aang? And what happened to me? And why are you all crying?"

"Well," Zuko said, taking in a shaky breath and holding himself in his arms. "What do we say? Where do we even start?" He nudged Sokka. "Um, well, Sokka, you tell her."

Sokka turned to his sister. "Katara, we're losing you."

Her mouth dropped. "What?"

"You're sick with something that's been taking away all that you need to survive," Zuko said. "And your cramps and dizziness are from your organs shutting down. Don't you remember? You fainted in my arms a few hours ago…"

"Katara?" Toph asked, not hearing anything for a while. "Are you okay?"

"I'm…dying? That can't be right! I'm still young. I just got married. I only thought that I had pulled or strained something. I…I can't die…You all need me, and I need you…" her tears fell. "I'll never see Aang again. I'll miss you guys getting married…and having kids…" she trailed off. "And I would never fulfill my role in the final battle…" she began to whisper. "I've failed you."

"No," Sokka whispered, putting his hand on her cheek. "No matter what happens, you've done us all proud…you're so brave, smart, and beautiful. You've saved each of our lives on more than one occasion. And you are the person who most kept me going when I wanted to give up. Don't you dare give up on me, Katara. I'm not giving up on you. We need you. Aang needs you."

As her tears continued to slide down her face, he lay down next to her and wrapped her in a comforting hug. She winced. "It hurts…so badly."

He stroked her hair. Toph joined in, and then Zuko, and they all held her tight until her tears stopped flowing and she fell asleep.

As they each left to go to bed, Toph stayed. She had a hunch about something Katara had, but wanted to check. When she knew Katara was fast asleep, Toph put her hand on Katara's chest, hearing the steady beating of her heart and her easy breathing. She thought she heard what she was thinking but moved downward. She stopped at Katara's lower abdomen, taking her hands off for a second, realizing what was wrong if she was right. She breathed heavily, and then put her hands back on Katara's stomach. She listened and felt, and found what she had been looking for: two heartbeats in one body.

Her smile reached her ears as she ran outside. She ran to Sokka's and Zuko's tents, which were right next to each other. "Sokka! Zuko! Wake up! I have good news about Katara! Meet me in my tent! I'm going to tell Hakoda! Hurry!"

She ran to Hakoda's tent. She walked in. "Hakoda, sir?" He was reading a book and looked up. "Toph! Is everything okay?"

"Yes, just come to my tent. I have good news about Katara! Hurry!"

He flew out of his chair and rushed to put his parka on. He went to Toph's tent, where Sokka and Zuko had already made a fire. They all sat down in a circle, and began loading her with questions.

"QUIET!" she yelled, and the three men became silent. "Okay. When you all left, I stayed with Katara. I wanted to see if anything was unusual, so I put my hands on her and felt for anything out of the ordinary. But good news part one: she's not going to die."

The men's jaws dropped, but they all relaxed and smiled thankfully.

"Thank God!"

"Geez…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Toph continued. "By feeing vibrations in her body, she seems perfectly fine and healthy. I diagnose her as having only very severe morning sickness."

"What?"

"No way!"

"But that means…"

"Yes," Toph finished, smiling. "Katara is pregnant."

Okay, so I hope you enjoyed it. Katara is pregnant, but it's only the start! Will Aang be home in time? Thanks to all who read this, and I'll keep you on your toes until chapter 3! PLEASE COMMENT!!

Also, so I don't forget now, many of the scenes/ upcoming phrases the characters say are inspired from Lord of the Rings, the Nativity Story, etc, etc, so if something sparks in your memory, just saying now. I don't own any movies or Avatar. But that would be sweet if I did! Thanks! Comment!