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Chapter 37

Katara wiped the tears from her eyes while she and Aang laughed, which was quite confusing for Sokka and Suki.

" Um... Katara... you wanna tell us what just happened? A few minutes ago you had a look on your face like a rabid badgermole was chasing you, and now you're laughing. Is this some kind of joke? You wanna let us in on it?" Sokka asked.

By now, they were joined on the terrace by Hakoda, Zuko, Mai, Haru and Toph, who was carrying Tenzin.

" Yeah, what's up?" Toph asked, as everyone waited for a reply.

" Oh... um... you see I wasn't expecting Aang to propose to me tonight and I kinda freaked out." Katara said.

" Yeah, we were all there, remember?" Toph said sarcastically.

At that point Aang took over. " Katara freaked out because she had something that she'd been hiding from me, and she thought I'd be upset when she told me about it." He said.

" What, the whole pregnant thing?" Toph asked nonchalantly.

" What's a pregnant thing, Aunt Toph?" Tenznin whispered. " I'll tell ya later, kiddo." Toph whispered back.

" You knew?" Aang asked dumbfounded looking at Katara slightly annoyed, Katara just shrugged her shoulders and smiled innocently.

" Well, duh... what do you think girls talk about when they get together, who's a better bender?" Toph retorted.

" Well, I guess I'm just a little disappointed that I wasn't the first to find out, that's all." Aang said downtrodden.

" She just wanted our advice, Aang. She thought you'd be upset about it." Suki said.

At that point, Hakoda walked over to his daughter with a wide grin on his face and hugged her dearly. " I'm so happy for you Katara, and I couldn't be more proud." He said softly.

" Congratulations you two." Mai said smiling. " Yeah, congratulations." Zuko added.

" Well, are ya gonna marry the guy or not?" Sokka asked irritated.

" Yes." Katara said smiling brightly as she held her betrothal necklace up for everyone to see.

" Wow, that's a beauty, Aang. Didn't know you had it in ya." Sokka said as he inspected the necklace closely.

" Thanks, Sokka... I think." Aang replied, not quite sure if it was a compliment or an insult.

" Um... guys... not to ruin the moment or anything, but there's a banquet hall full of people wondering what the hell is going on, maybe we ought to go back inside." Zuko said.

" Oh, no! I'm so embarrassed, what are we going to tell them?" Katara asked anxiously.

" Don't worry about it, Katara. I'll handle it." Aang replied, then they all filed back in to the banquet room and took their respective seats except for Aang, who remained standing. The quiet murmurs of the crowd hushed as the group reentered the banquet hall and Katara's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but everyone's eyes were trained on the Avatar as they waited for him to speak.

" I would like to apologize for the delay in the festivities this evening, it seems that my proposal of marriage took Lady Katara by surprise, and she needed to leave the room to compose herself before her reply." Aang explained. " And, I am pleased to announce that Lady Katara has accepted my proposal." He added happily, and the crowd stood up and started cheering and applauding with excitement.

After a few minutes Aang raised his hands in front of him, then lowered them in an attempt to calm the crowd. "Please, let us continue our celebration of the union of our Fire Lord and Lady." He said smiling, then took his seat next to his fiance and gently placed his hand on her stomach under the table.

" What is a pregnant thing, Aunt Toph?" Tenzin asked again.

" Well, you see -" Toph started.

" Oh, no, no, no, no... Tenzin, mommy will explain it to you later." Katara interjected, imagining all of the things Toph could possibly say to explain it to him, none of them being appropriate.

After the celebration had ended, everyone returned to their rooms completely exhausted. Katara put Tenzin to bed then entered the room she shared with Aang, who was sitting on the edge of the bed and looked deep in thought.

" Aang, is everything okay?" She asked.

" Katara... why were you afraid to tell me you were pregnant? Don't you know how much I love you and Tenzin?" He asked perplexed.

Katara walked over to the bed and sat down next to him, then replied. " I don't know, Aang, I guess for lots of reasons. I mean... after not seeing me for 4 years you find out you have a son that you didn't know about, and you've barely had time to adjust to the idea." She explained. " I thought it might be a bit overwhelming to find out you were going to have another child so soon. And... I didn't want you to feel obligated to marry me because I'm pregnant, I wanted it to be because you wanted to." She added.

" Katara, that's all I've ever wanted... since the day we met. To marry you, and have children with you, and grow old together." Aang said softly, taking her hand in his.

" Are sure you're okay with this... with me being pregnant?" She asked.

" Katara, every time we made love, I prayed that we would be blessed with another child. One as wonderful and amazing as Tenzin." He replied. " And it looks like I got my wish." He added smiling softly.

" Oh, Aang..." Katara said before she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him deeply. Aang deepened the kiss and started running his hands up and down her back, then around to cup one of her breasts and began kneading it as he lowered her on to the bed. The kissing became more frantic and they began removing each others clothes until they lay in a pile on the floor next to the bed. Aang positioned himself over her and slid his fingers between her hot, moist folds and gently rubbed the hard nub at the top with his thumb. Katara went wild and grabbed on to his buttocks and pulled him closer, guiding his member to her entrance, then just as he was about to enter her he pulled away abruptly and rolled off of her and lay next to her on the bed breathing heavily.

" Aang, what's wrong?" Katara asked confused.

" Should we... I mean... is it okay? Will it... hurt the baby?" He asked breathlessly, and Katara giggled softly.

" What? I don't know about this... stuff." He said defensively.

" I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh." She said stiffling a giggle. " It's perfectly fine, Aang. It won't hurt the baby." She added, then slid over and climbed on top of him straddling him, and that was all he could take. He placed one hand behind her head and pulled her into a fiery kiss, and guided his membed into her and began pumping in and out her furiously. It had been quite some time since they've had sex and both of them were going at it hungrily until they both climaxed with an explosion of ecstacy, the waves of pleasure seeming to last forever.

" Wow." Katara said breathlessly as she collapsed on to Aangs chest. All Aang could do was nod, and within minutes they were both sound asleep.

" Momma, I'm hungry." Tenzin said as he poked Katara's shoulder to wake her.

" Hmmf... what?" Katara said sleepily, then her eyes shot wide open as she quickly lifted her head off of the pillow just enough to inspect the linens to make sure that she and Aang were covered appropriately, ' I'm going to have to remember to lock the door.' She thought to herself, then dropped her head back on to the pillow sighing with relief and turned to face her son. " Um... okay sweetie. You go to your room and pick out something to wear, and momma will get dressed and come to get you, and we'll see what yummy things we can find for breakfast."

" Okay." Tenzin replied yawning as he turned toward the door.

Once Tenzin had left the room, Katara leaned over and kissed Aang on the shoulder and ran her fingers softly down his arm. " Time to wake up sleepyhead." She said softly in his ear.

A slight grin appeared on Aangs face and he flipped over and rolled her onto her back then slid on top of her and began kissing her neck, making his way down to her chest.

" Aang... " Katara said giggling softly. " Cut it out, Tenzin's been in here already and thank goodness we didn't give him an eyefull." She added.

" We really need to remember to lock the door." Aang said laughing, then rolled on to his back and placed his hands behind his head on the pillow. " Sorry about last night." He said.

" Sorry? For what?" She asked puzzled.

" Well... for... you know... not lasting very long. I couldn't help it, sorry." He replied.

" Well neither could I, it was long enough, trust me." She said grinning.

" Tonight it will be way better, trust me." He replied with a sly grin.

" I'm gonna hold you to that, mister." She said as she got up and gathered their clothes from the floor and piled them on the end of the bed, then went to the closet to find something to wear.

Aang raised his head up and watched her as she walked away swaying her hips seductively. " You are sooooo beautiful." He said softly, then got up and followed her to the closet and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the shoulder.

" Thank you." She said softly, blushing. " Now get dressed for breakfast, and I'll get Tenzin." She added.

" Okay." He replied disappointed.

" Save it for tonight." She said grinning, then got dressed and went to help Tenzin, taking her time because it was very apparent that her highly aroused fiance might need a little time to ' take care of something ' before he joined them for breakfast.

Mai and Zuko joined their guests for breakfast and invited everyone to stay at the palace and enjoy themselves for as long as they wished, and that that the servants would provide them with anything they needed for the length of their stay. Then, after breakfast, everyone accompanied the newlyweds to the dock and bid them fairwell as they boarded the ship that would take them to Ember Island where they would spend their honeymoon.

The gang decided to stay at the palace for a few more days to relax and tour the Fire Nation, which had changed much since the war. These were peaceful times and they planned to enjoy it. The women went shopping for maternity clothes for Katara and Toph, while the men lounged around the palace for most of the day, then met the women in the city for supper that evening at one of the Fire Nation's finest restaurants, which was free of charge since they were the honored guests of the Fire Lord and Lady.

During the meal, Sokka and Aang about fell out of their chairs when Toph announced that she was pregnant and that she and Haru were to be married. Toph, the same Toph that had kicked their asses too many times to count, was pregnant and getting married? They were having a hard time wrapping their heads around it, but congratulated the couple and wished them well. Then everyone happily chatted for the rest of the evening about weddings and the new arrivals soon to be added to their happy extended family.