Part 16

She'd been asleep for a good nine hours straight exhausted from running around the city for no good reason yesterday. For the past three hours her sleep had been broken as she was pulled from her slumber occasionally, only to peak around and go back to sleep. In that time she hadn't realized that the body next to her was no longer asleep and had been up all morning doing things, mostly pacing back and forth nervously. So the fire bender was a bit startled when a hand touched her arm.

Grasping the person's wrist she moved their hand away and rolled over snuggling under the covers even more. The hand rested on her shoulder again shaking her slightly, only annoying the princess more now. She brushed the hand away having a fit and tried to get comfortable once more. A frustrated hiss came from behind her and the hand grasped her shoulder like a claw. "Come on Azula wake up." The water bender's voice came into her ears. The tan woman's tone wasn't a very chipper one, it sounded like the water bender was uneasy. "I…I have something to tell you." The Water Tribe woman swallowed deeply.

The woman made it sound like someone had died. The princess jolted to life and sprang upward. "IS ZUKO DEAD? AM I THE NEW FIRE LORD?!" She asked so quickly her words sounded like one long word. From the excitement shooting through her body she was breathing fast. Katara just looked at her a bit angry. "I meant, oh he's dead so sad you know…" She added quickly.

The tan woman shook her head slightly. "He's not dead." The water bender explained firmly. The princess' stomach lurched and she slumped forward a little, the joyful look draining from her face. Damn it, why couldn't Zuko just come down with some kind of odd illness so he died and she could have the throne? Hmm, would the servants be able to figure who poisoned his drink? If not then she would-,

Her thoughts of assassination were interrupted by the tan woman's long tired sigh. She only felt a hint of pity for the water bender. She was just annoyed that her good, incredibly good, dream and been disturbed for news that probably would have no real usefulness to her. If this was another lecture about how she needed to stay on her side of the bed, she was goanna just close her eyes and continue to sleep.

The tan woman took in a long breath as she crossed the room, trembling with her every step. Katara grabbed a stool and brought it back and sat a good distance from the princess. The fire bender looked confused. "Then why'd you wake me up?" She said with a bit of attitude.

The water bender swallowed deeply as she stared at the floor. Katara looked like she was standing in front of a crowd in her underwear trying to give a speech. The tan woman was taking calming breathes trying to get the guts to spill the news to the prodigy. Suddenly interested, Azula's pulled the covers away from her legs and turned to face the water bender.

Closing her eyes and weaving her fingers together Katara straightened and began to speak. "We…need to talk." The water bender cleared her throat so that her weak voice could at least sound somewhat strong. For a moment the princess' stomach dropped even further, when conversations started with those words it never ended well. She gripped the sheets of the bed tightly, now she stared at the floor too.

"Is this good news or bad news?" She couldn't let Katara continue knowing it was bad news. What had gone wrong in the past two weeks? Did the water bender miss her friends, her family? Had she done something? The tan woman's nervous expression lightened a bit.

The Water Tribe woman gave an uneasy laugh. "I sure hope it's good news." The water bender didn't look so sure how to put her words so it was clear to the fire bender. So for a second they sat there in silence, only making Katara extremely unconfident as the quiet minute passed. The more the water bender thought the more water built up in her eyes and the more choked up she became.

Acting off of instinct, the fire bender came over to the woman kneeling before Katara, holding the water bender's shaking shoulders. "Hey, surely the news is nothing to cry about, right?" Her lover nodded slightly wiping a tear from her cheek and she looked at the princess dead in the eye. Azula gave a small smile trying to make Katara not feel so sad.

"You won't believe this…" The tan woman chuckled trying to keep herself from coming to tears like she had a few hours ago when she discovered the news. "You know how when uh, two people come together and uh…and they make a…ermm..." The princess shook her head not understanding how that had anything to do with them. "You know how we…"

She laughed slightly not understanding why the woman was telling her this. "What're you saying Katara?" She said trying to continue to smile as if it was some kind of joke. The only thought running through her mind right now was that Katara was leaving and that there was someone else.

The water bender shrugged deeply hoping she could've avoided saying this but obviously the princess was slow today. "Azula." She said flatly. Screwing her eyes closed she got herself ready for fire to zoom towards her, she said, "I'm pregnant." The fire bender laughed not too hard but just a little.

"Yeah sure…good joke Katara." The fire bender stood up and headed over to the bed to go back to sleep. The water bender flew onto her feet, angry that the princess didn't believe her.

"It's true!" She declared. The princess rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. Clearly the tan woman was loosing her mind if she believed it was true. The fire bender turned around shaking her head.

"It's not true okay? It's impossible!" She said slowly so that the woman would get the facts into her head. "That's the good part of being gay right? You don't have to deal with kids. Or worry about getting any!" The fire bender stated.

"Not if the moon spirit decided to give you one as a present!" Katara blurted out. The princess stopped moving…stopped breathing…she stared at the water bender hoping to find a playful smile but there was none. The water bender watched as the amusing expression on Azula's face faded.

The fire bender couldn't even begin to wrap her mind around what was happening. A kid, a little piece of them running around causing trouble, she was goanna have one soon. She felt like she'd been thrown into some kind of surreal universe and any second she'd wake up. She hoped that could just open her eyes and escape. What was she going to do with the kid? She knew nothing; she had no skills to be a parent. To her, this had been her worst nightmare. Something she'd been trying to avoid. Why now when everything had been going so good?

"Well can't you just tell her we didn't want one?!" She said out of fear. Katara looked appalled at the princess' response. "You can't just go around giving people stuff they don't want!"

"I don't think Yue has a return policy Azula!" The water bender replied knowing that the fire bender would react this way. "And…and this was something I've always dreamed of but knew I couldn't have." She walked over to the prodigy who moved away becoming a bit distant. The princess looked off at the wall, anything to keep her eyes off of the water bender. "This is a blessing, not a curse." The tan woman's hand caressed her cheek more gently than ever before.

The fire bender lowered her head, it felt like her heart jumped into her throat and her eyes were stinging unbearably. The miserable feeling of being tied down by dead weight sunk over her. "I don't know how to take care of a kid." She whispered because her voice was so weak. Her throat was so tight barely any sound could escape. Katara gave her an encouraging smile and petted her head.

"Trust me I know." The water bender chuckled. "But you're not alone. You've got me." The tan woman came closer to her and hugged the princess tightly. The fire bender let out a long almost depressed sigh as she stared out the window at the bright blue sky with hardly any clouds in it.

"Man," The prodigy whined. "I hate kids." The water bender gave a small laugh. "They all look the same…they drool…they stink…" The fire bender went quiet but Katara knew there were dozens more reasons why the princess didn't like kids. "Watch this kid won't even have all ten fingers by the end of the year."

Katara poked the fire bender roughly. "Don't say that." The water bender ran her fingers through the prodigy's hair not really noticing that she was. "She can hear you." The princess separated a bit and looked down at the tan woman's stomach.

"How do you know it's a girl?" The princess questioned the water bender. There was no real way of knowing what the child would be, it wasn't even far enough along to even have a gender yet.

The Water Tribe woman chuckled. "Trust me I know what's growing inside me." The prodigy placed her hand on Katara's flat stomach trying to convince herself that a human had made a home there.

"You make it sound like there's a giant bug in there." The fire bender gave a tiny smile. The water bender tilted her head letting a shrug escape. "Probably is one, she's goanna torture the crap out of you." The prodigy giggled. "Kicking, making you moody, hungry…"

"Hey maybe we should arrange this so you're the one having the baby." The water bender threatened playfully. Azula gave a nervous look and stepped back holding her hands up.

"No, no I'm good." The fire bender yawned tiredly and sat down on the bed. She ran a hand through her hair and leaning back on the headboard. The water bender draped over the fire bender like a blanket and snuggled close.

"I been thinking of a few names…" The tan woman said as she pressed her ear closer to Azula's heart which let her know the princess was alive. The fire bender groaned in response and closed her eyes trying to go back to sleep, even though she wasn't worried about sleep anymore.

"How about mini Azula?" The prodigy chuckled. "I like that name. Don't know where I heard it but I just like the sound." A grin came over the Water Tribe woman.

"How about mini Katara?" The water bender said lifting her head to look up at the fire bender. The prodigy make a scrunched up face.

"No, that's a horrible name." The both of them laughed. The princess lowered her hand to the tan woman's back and moved her hand back and forth gently. "We could always call it the poop machine."

"Oh very creative." Katara giggled as she closed her tired eyes. "I was thinking of Akikku…it's kind of your name and Sokka's, Suki's too." The princess opened her eyes and looked down at the water bender.

"Why would we name the poop machine after those two?" She wondered. Sokka and Suki had absolutely nothing to with them or their unborn child.

"Well Sokka because I pretty much raised him and it's nice that I actually get to take care of my own kid. Suki, I don't know I guess she just comes with the package because of Sokka." The tan woman replied and the princess shook her head.

"There's your problem, just get rid of those two and we can call it mini Azula." The prodigy said with a wide grin. The water bender looked up at the fire bender grumpily before sliding her arm around the princess and grabbing the pillow.

"We are not…" The tan woman bashed the fire bender with the pillow right in the side of the head. "…calling her that."

Part 17

"WWWHAAAAAAAA!!!!" It was a fraction of a scream, it was like taking a regular baby's cry and turning the volume down. The new born was washed off and wrapped in a red blanket like some kind of present. The prodigy felt the claw on her hand loosen as the water bender was able to calm down. Excited to see what the poop machine looked like, she leaped onto her feet and over to the servant.

Over the past nine months, she'd been curious about the child, Azula was so relieved that the damn thing was here. A pregnant Katara was probably the scariest thing she'd ever had to deal with. She couldn't go to sleep unless the water bender was asleep because the tan woman wanted the princess to suffer as much as she did. If she didn't do what the water bender wanted Katara would either do her creepy blood bending or threaten to stab Azula. Then there was all the other stupid stuff parents had to do, getting a crib, thousands of clothes, somehow Ty Lee found out so their daughter (if it was one) would be wearing nothing but pink until she was three. The princess was exhausted and taking care of the baby had just begun.

The fire bender saw a glimpse of her child's face. She swore she was staring at a painting of when she was that small. The child looked just like her. "It's a girl." The servant said and she heard a laugh from behind her.

"I was right, I told you, you owe me a back massage now." The tan woman said. She just shrugged and carefully took her daughter in her arms. "Don't drop her Azula." The fire bender held the baby cradled in both arms, she could feel the small rise and fall of the baby's chest. It was like holding a teddy bear only it was alive. She couldn't believe that this tiny person came from Katara. She turned around and crossed the room slowly, trying not to drop the child, she sat down next to the water bender. She placed the baby in the tan woman's arms.

"You made a good looking kid." The princess whispered with a grin. Katara spread the red blanket a little and pulled out one of the small chubby arms and let the tiny fingers wrap around one of hers. As the blanket shifted it moved away from the baby's head revealing the short brown fluffy hair. The fire bender's hand looked huge as she brushed it over her daughter's head. "It's just like your hair." For a split second one of the small eyelids cracked opened and a grey bluish eye looked up at them.

One month later…

The tiny cry was barely making any noise but the sound echoed in the large room, making the horrible sound ten times louder than it should've been. Azula shoved her fingers in her ears, shoving them so far in she could've set a new record. How in the world could something so small make so much annoying noise? She stood there staring at the water bender impatiently.

"What's wrong with it?" She hollered because she couldn't hear herself speak, which made it sound like she was shouting, which only made the baby scream louder. Katara shook her head letting out a sigh trying to think of something the baby wanted. The tan woman came off the cushioned couch. Katara held up the no bigger than a loaf of bread baby in front of the princess.

"Hold her for a second." She barely heard the woman over the wailing but the words she did hear didn't make her happy. She didn't want to hold the noise box she wanted it to be quiet. Unplugging her fingers the cries nearly made her deaf, she reached out and grasped the tiny torso which was barely bigger than her hands. Katara let go and she was holding the baby in front of her all on her own now.

She stared at her one month old, half annoyed because she couldn't get any sleep anymore. Her daughter had a head the size of her palm, a soft head of chocolate colored hair and wide blue eyes, but as for her features the baby looked just like the fire bender. Almost right after Katara let go, the baby fell silent as she stared at the prodigy. Mother and daughter just exchanged blank looks. "What're you staring at?" The princess mumbled miserably.

The baby remained blank for another second before her lips slowly made a smile. Azula didn't know why but for some reason a great rush of joy came over her at the sight of her daughter's first smile. "Hey Katara look what I made her do." The tired water bender came over to see what the baby was doing.

"Well, well, well looks like someone does have a motherly touch after all." The tan woman teased and the fire bender's smile turned to a pout. A small hand swatted the side of Azula's face, making a red spot.

"Ow!" The fire bender turned her attention back to the baby who was now giggling. "Who knew she could be so deadly?" The princess grinded her teeth as her face stung from the pain.

"Guess that means you can stop calling her the poop machine." Katara said before sitting down and relaxing. The fire bender sat down next to Katara and put the baby on the floor, propping the girl up with a pillow. The princess shook her head.

"I don't think she'll ever loose that name." The fire bender laughed.

---------

The both of them tiptoed out of the baby's room trying not to make a sound. If they were quiet enough then maybe they'd be able to sleep for once. They were barely breathing as they slowly made their way towards the door. Both of their gazes were on the small lump in the blankets. They inched closer to the door every sound they made sounded like avalanche or an earthquake and the baby would wake up any second.

The tan woman bended some water and put out the candle. The sound of the fire being put out made both of their heads jerk the side to see if the baby woke up. Their daughter just made a funny movement with her lips. They had to try and contain their laughter. They moved a little closer to the door.

The fire bender could barely see in the dark and clumsily kicked a toy which rammed into the wall and bounced off skidding across the door. The feeling of doom sunk over the both of them. "Whaaaaa…" Katara gave the prodigy a sharp look before slapping Azula's forehead with the back of her hand.

Part 18

"Akikku you will eat this applesauce now damn it!" The fire bender hissed at the two year old who'd rather paint with the food than eat it. Katara had gone out to enjoy lunch with an old friend because supposedly Azula hardly ever took care of their daughter. And it was time for the two of them do some "quality bonding time". So now she was stuck trying to force her daughter to eat.

The girl got a good chunk of rice and applesauce on her finger before flinging it onto Azula's face. "NO DAMN IT!" The child hollered with attitude. The fire bender looked around to see if anyone heard what Akikku said. She'd be in so much trouble it Katara heard that.

"Look I'll make you a deal; you don't have to eat this if you promise not to say that in front of Katara okay?" The prodigy said quickly but her daughter was too busy playing with a carrot pretending it was a ship sailing through a storm. "Please just don't say that, I…I'll get you a nice big rhino alright?" She couldn't believe this, she was trying to bribe a two year old.

"No." The girl said in a very firm tone despite being no taller than the princess' knees. "Damn it." The child said again before repeating it several times filling her mother with fear. Azula covered Akikku's mouth.

"SHHH!!" She hissed hoping no one heard and could tell Katara. "Shut up." She said nervously. Small teeth squeezed the fire bender's palm. "OWWW!!!" Azula took her and back and grabbed it. "You little-," Akikku just started cracking up. "You know what!" The princess stuck her tongue out at the girl and her daughter blew a raspberry in her face.

The fire bender tried to calm down because she shouldn't feel so defeated by her own kid. She couldn't believe how mad Akikku made her sometimes, just like she used to make Ursa mad. "You are like an evil twin aren't you?" The princess said with a bit of smile and messed up her daughter's hair.

The sound of someone coming in came from behind the fire bender. Akikku's face lit up and she tried getting out of the chair. "MUMMY!!! 'TARA!!!" The princess turned around relieved to see that the woman was back.

Part 19

The eight year old ran away from the other group of kids playing on the beach making sandcastles, tears falling from her eyes. She ran back to her parents who were sitting lazily in the sun. Katara looked like a dead fish that the tides had brought in, the sun baking her tan body. Azula was staring down at her feet as she wiggled her toes in the sand and poking the water bender's back trying to annoy Katara on purpose.

The princess stared down at the woman who hadn't moved in ages. She turned to her side and took the water jug and poured it onto the woman's back and the tan woman twitched. "Mmmph…give me a back massage." The water bender asked. The fire bender continued poking Katara's back. "I meant a real one!"

"You never give me one." The prodigy complained before yawning widely. "Can we go yet? I'm bored." As she looked out across the crowded beach she spotted their daughter running over to them with tears running down her cheeks. "Hey, get up she's crying."

"Huh?" The water bender turned around and sat up tiredly as their child fell onto her knees before them. "Aw what happened?" The tan woman said worriedly as she cuddled her daughter closely. Azula was also curious but angrier than curious, she'd raise hell when she found out who or what was responsible for this. Akikku buried her small face into Katara's shoulder even more.

"Th-they said I couldn't play with them." The girl said choking on her tears. The fire bender eyed the other kids who were slightly older than her daughter. "They said they didn't want a stupid girl around."

"THEY WHAT?!" Azula shouted outraged. Concerned more about the prodigy now, Katara tried to snatch the princess' hand before she stomped over there but it was too late.

"Great," The water bender sighed as she watched the princess go over to the group of boys who dropped their shovels and buckets the second they saw her. She watched the fire bender shout at them, blue fire exploding from her fists. Out of anger the prodigy kicked the sandcastle making the boys start crying. Azula came back and sat down huffing out.

"Why don't you go play now?" The princess said with a smirk. Acting like she hadn't cried, Akikku leaped onto her feet and ran back to the group of boys who were more than happy to have her join now. Katara shook her head letting out a shrug.

"You're ridiculous you know that." The water bender said nudging Azula's shoulder. The princess shook her head in disagreement as she looked out at the beach, watching their daughter.

"I might be, but so are you." The fire bender stated. The water bender leaned her head back and laughed at the prodigy.

"Might be? Might be?!" The tan woman continued to laugh it took some time before she was able to stop. The water bender sighed as she looked up at the blue sky, thinking of how long it's been. She lowed her head and stared at Azula's hand. "I got a letter from home."

The fire bender glanced over at her not too enthusiastic. "Another one?" The prodigy shrugged. "That's six in one week." The princess said. She became shocked to know that the prodigy was keeping count but then again the woman always kept a close eye on her.

"Some of us like talking to our relatives." She said. She still couldn't believe that they lived in the palace for over eight years and the fire bender had only said one sentence to Zuko in that time. But she knew why, the princess couldn't necessarily talk freely about her family. Though, she knew Zuko knew what was going on because Akikku liked to wander the palace and she probably ran into her uncle at some point. As open as they were with the world, they were still a secret, no one really bothered to ask them questions because they never let people get too close.

But this life of secrecy was the last thing she wanted for her child. She didn't even want Akikku to live in the Fire Nation as much as she had. Already the girl was picking up bad habits most of them coming from the prodigy. And who remembers the number of times she lectured the princess about it? The only reason she stayed this long was because her daughter did need to know about the Fire Nation, after all it was a part of her. But the Southern Water Tribe would be a more proper place to raise a decent young woman.

Besides Akikku showed signs of a water bender, but she didn't tell Azula that. Their daughter was compassionate and caring just like Katara. She didn't want that warmth to be stabbed out by the cruelty in the Fire Nation. Plus most of her family was in the Water Tribe it was about time she met them. At least there they'd be able to stop hiding. She just had to figure out away to tell the princess this. But not right now, right now she was going to enjoy the boiling heat and the unmerciful sunlight, pretending to be Azula's friend instead of wife.

------

The Fire Nation's prodigy sat down in her expensive chair, silk robe, ready to relax and just let the stress of the day wash away. She leaned her head back on the chair and controlled her breathing. Yes, she was home, in her kingdom and all her peasants were far from her and she could finally get a little peace and quiet-,

"Hey mom check this out." Her daughter's loud voice rang through the room. She let out a groan and opened her eyes. Akikku was standing on the chair opposite of her bouncing on the cushion slightly before leaping into the air forming a kick then landing. "Did I do it right?"

"Mmm-hmmm." The princess said closing her eyes not really paying attention to her daughter. The eight year old let out a depressed sigh as her shoulders fell. Her mother probably hadn't even been watching.

"Did you even look?" The girl whined.

"Go bother you're mother!" Azula said in the same whiny tone. Akikku looked at the prodigy strangely.

"You are my mom." The younger girl glanced away from the tired princess to her other mother who was walking in.

"Hey what did I say about leaping off the furniture?" Katara said raising her finger. The girl made a face that looked like the water bender was about to smack her with a plank of wood. "Besides Azula's tired, why don't you go bother Mai huh?"

Akikku crossed her arms and made a suspicious face. "I know why you want me to go, you guys want to make kissy face don't you?" The girl made a gagging gesture with her tongue. The princess sunk into the chair even more.

"I'm goanna get more than that." The fire bender said with a wide grin. Katara slapped the prodigy's shoulder and hissed the princess' name in a disapproving tone. The fire bender just laughed.

"You guys are gross." Their daughter declared before leaving the two of them alone.

The fire bender leaned her head back again and closed her eyes now that their daughter had finally given her time alone. She heard the tan woman's footsteps come behind and gentle hands came to her shoulders and squeezed and released the tense muscles of her shoulders. It felt great, more than great, it felt amazing. Why didn't Katara do this for her more often? If she was doing this it only meant one thing, "Alright what do you want now?" She mumbled.

The water bender squeezed slightly tighter causing the princess to groan loudly. "I don't what anything." The tan woman said innocently. She opened her eyes and looked up at Katara to see her wife was smiling. "Okay…" the woman sighed deeply as she gave up. "I want to ask you something." The water bender came out from behind the chair and sat down in the princess' lap.

Anoof escaped her as the water bender came onto her lap. It was for dramatic affect because Katara was far from being heavy, she was still slim and capable of making the princess weak in the knees. "Hmm could this question wait till later?" The prodigy said as she leaned closer to the water bender and caressed Katara's neck with her lips. She did this on purpose not only out of her desire but because she wanted to distract the water bender. She wasn't in the mood to do something that involved lots of talking.

The tan woman squirmed in place from what the prodigy was doing. "No, not really." Katara had to force the words out since she was busy trying escape the fire bender's lips. "It's a-ahhhh-about the Southern Water Tribe." She made her wife chuckle as she nibbled on the water bender's earlobe. "I was thinking it would be a…g-g-good idea to-," She slipped her hand into Katara's shirt and brushed her hand over the woman's flat stomach. "-MOVE THERE!" The water bender squeaked and shoved the prodigy's hand out of her shirt.

The princess dropped what she was doing and stared at the woman. "Move there?" She asked. "What's wrong with here?" Did Katara just like dropping bombs on her often or what? Moving to the freezing empty landscape of the South Pole was the last place a fire bender would want to call home. Especially her, a princess who had all she needed right where they were. "I you're home stick but you've heard of vacations right?"

"Yeah it's just this going to be a very long, long….long one." The water bender said now getting extremely close to Azula trying to cuddle because she was begging badly. "And it's not because of me, it's for all of us." She shrugged and shook her head, not this speech again.

"How'd is sending me somewhere cold and alien for all of us?" She wondered. The woman hugged her tightly but the princess didn't want the hug right now. She didn't want to move, there was no reason they should.

"I know you're happy here." The water bender said. "But think about Akikku, she's a good kid and you saw how the kids treat her. She'd be welcomed in the South Pole, all of us as a family would be." The tan woman was trying her best to convince the princess but Azula made up her mind. But there was always other ways to persuade the prodigy. Katara leaned up and kissed the fire bender deeply…

----

"How could you let her just make us move?" Akikku complained as she sat next to Azula as they were in the bridge of the ship on their way to the South Pole. The princess gave a smile.

"Your mother has her ways." The fire bender chuckled as she glanced over at the eight old who was forced to be bundled up in one of the large furry Water Tribe coats looking so much like Katara at the moment. Akikku was leaning forward on the stool her elbows on the table her head resting on her knuckles. The girl was eyeing one the younger female members of the crew. "What're you looking at?" She teased her daughter.

"Nothing!" Akikku huffed out and glanced away quickly. "Spirits you're so weird." Azula opened her mouth to say something but a bundle of cloth was dropped onto her lap. Katara was standing next to her now and it was obvious the water bender had put the cloth there.

"What's this?" She asked as she picked up the black heavy fabric which had a light blue inside, wondering what on earth it was.

"Something to keep you warm." The water bender said. "You're goanna need it."