Chapter Eight

Katara hadn't slept since finding out about her condition. Each time she closed her eyes, she was met with images of him, memories of their time together, and worse yet, her worries about what would happen next. She needed to tell Aang, she knew that, but he was so busy worrying about how to piece the world back together that she hadn't gotten a moment to speak with him.

She sighed when Sokka stepped into the tent. Zuko's uncle had offered to let her stay in the palace, even not knowing her condition, but she had declined, preferring to be in the company of her family, preferring to be away from anything that would remind her of him. "If you're going to yell at me, just get it over with," she said, not able to look her brother in the eye.

"I'm not going to yell at you," he sighed and sat beside her. She leaned into his side, never wanting to leave it again. Sokka had always been a comfort to her, ever since they were young children. He sighed and wrapped an arm around her. "Besides, I don't have any room to talk. Suki's only a year older than you."

"Yeah, but Suki isn't pregnant," she groand and shut her eyes. "She's not, right?"

"No, of course not," Sokka assured and held her. "You promise no one hurt you? That he didn't hurt you?"

"He wouldn't do that," she defended, looking up at her brother.

"I'm just saying," Sokka held his hands up. "He chased us around the world and tried to kill us a few times. It's a fair question."

"He didn't hurt me," she said firmly and shut her eyes once more. "How mad is Dad?"

"More mad at him than you," Sokka answered. "But, I mean, he can't do anything. So I guess that's one good thing out of all of this."

"He might actually have killed him," Katara smiled slightly.

"I don't think there's a 'might' in that scenario," Sokka laughed and kissed the top of her head. "And at least now we don't have to worry about who's going to become Firelord, right?"

Katara frowned, then groaned. In all her thoughts and worries, the fact that she was carrying the crown prince of the Fire Nation's child hadn't quite set in. She was not responsible only for a fatherless child, but for the hope of an entire nation. "What am I going to do, Sokka?"

"You need to tell Aang," he answered. "He'll know what to do."

She nodded and took a shaky breath. Telling Aang would upset him, she had no doubt about that. She knew he loved her, but she had never quite felt the same way. She had taken care of Aang while they traveled the world, had taught him waterbending. He knew more about her than almost anyone, but she had never seen him in a romantic light, not like she had seen Zuko.

"Get some sleep, Katara," Sokka said. "I'll be right here when you wake up."

She nodded and lay down, closing her eyes. And she had her first decent night's sleep in weeks.

She woke early the next morning and rolled her eyes when she saw Sokka, still sound asleep and snoring loudly. "Brothers," she muttered under her breath before leaving the tent.

"Katara," Hakoda approached her, and she felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. As much as she needed to talk to her father, she needed to find Aang, especially before he left to speak with the Earth King.

"Dad," she nodded. "Have you seen Aang?"

She watched as his face fell, and hated herself for avoiding him for the past several days. "Having breakfast with the King of Omashu." She started to leave, but he gently grabbed her wrist. "We need to talk about this, Katara."

"I know, Dad," she replied. "But I really need to talk to Aang right now." She heard him sigh in disappointment, but felt him let go of her wrist. "I'm sorry," she turned to face him. "I promise we'll talk after I talk to him."

"Be safe," he sighed, and she left him.

She saw Aang and Bumi eating together, and leaned against a nearby tree, smiling at how easily the two were still able to communicate with each other, to laugh and joke even though so many terrible things had happened. "I believe your friend has come to see you," she heard Bumi say, and watched as Aang turned to face her, his ever-present smile on his face.

"Katara!" he exclaimed and stood.

"Is this a good time?" she asked, hugging herself. Aang turned to face Bumi, who nodded and smiled, before turning back to face her. "Can we talk?"

"Sure," Aang replied and walked away from the others with her. "What's wrong?"

"I need to tell you something," she replied, staring straight ahead instead of facing him. "Something kind of important. After Zuko and I confronted Yon Rha, something happened…" she trailed off, unsure of how to continue, unsure of how to be gentle about it.

She glanced at Aang, who was oddly silent, who did not pressure her to continue. "I need to tell you something too," he admitted and turned to face her. "I was kind of listening outside your tent, after you were sick…"

"Oh," her face fell, and she took a shaky breath.

"I'm really sorry," he said. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay, and…"

"It's fine, Aang," she cut him off. She started to speak again, but Aang cut her off.

"You don't owe me an explanation," he assured. "But we do need to meet with General Iroh. He agreed to rule until we found someone to take over, but this changes things. We don't' need to look anymore."

She nodded and sat on the ground, pulling a knee to her chest. "I just want to go home. For all of this to be over."

"I know," he sighed and sat next to her. "Me too."

She took his hand in hers and squeezed it reassuringly, knowing that her struggle was nothing compared to the enormous tasks he had in front of him. "It's okay," she said. "We're going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay."