'I'll deal with her. Please leave.' Zuko's voice was dull and flat, as though all the life had drained from him. Iroh didn't respond, he bowed his greying top knot, and swiftly exited, ushering Yenna out before him.

When Zuko heard the latch gently click shut he lay his beautiful wife, gently down on the thick fur rug, and rose gingerly to his feet. He strode quietly to the bathroom, glancing back at Katara who lay motionless beside the bed, her night dress stained with crimson blood once more. He retrieved a pile of clean towels and a bowl of water. Carefully bring them to her side, to porcelain clattered as the bowl made contact with the marble floor tiles. One last thing he went to fetch, Zuko riffled around the draws of the nearby dresser and selected a loose fitting, smock night dress, royal Prussian blue with a delicate silver trim. Zuko held the porcelain bowl of water in one hand, holding his other beneath it. He maintained a small blaze beneath the pot until streams of tiny bubbles riffled through it. He doused a towel in the warm water before gently rolling Katara towards him, lifting her back slightly from the floor. He wiped the blood from her back and the backs or her legs, unbuttoning the back of the stained night dress as he went. It was an imitation of a medical theatre gown, so it was easy enough to remove. He did this in silence, manipulating Katara's limp body into position.

He peeled the night gown from her, revealing her pale, pregnant form. The scar that emblazed her belly seemed so much more raw and red; it protruded scandalously from her bump. Gathering his nerves, Zuko rang the blood soaked clothe in the clean, warm water, which immediately billowed with red clouds. The watered blood trickled between his knuckles as he released his grip. He cleaned the last patch of blood from Katara's pale thigh. Lifting her unconscious form, he awkwardly re-dressed her in the new blue night dress. His heart plunged as her head lolled lifelessly as he placed her gently back into the lush tiger bear fur rug.

Silently he left the water, cloth and Katara's bloodied nightdress, discarded on the marbled tiled floor. Guiding a strong arm, one beneath the crook of her knees, the other behind her back, curling her into him, he steadily lifted her up on to the downy, soft bed. Her arms, legs and head lolled back lifelessly as she left the ground.

'I love you Tara.' He mumbled as he pulled the thin satin bed cover over her. 'Just hold on, I've got you.' He whispered close to her ear, before placing a soft kiss to one side of her forehead. Katara did not move; she didn't register him at all. The soft glow of the moon light shone down on the two of them, Zuko barely lifting his head to the light, gave a small smile, which turned quickly into a painful grimace, as he bowed his weary head respectfully.

Zuko's head began to swim, as though the room were spinning around him. He shook the uneasy feeling off, just long enough to crawl onto the bed bedside his wife, drawing up his knees around her and resting a steady hand atop her bump. He stroked the soft silk fabric beneath his fingertips rhythmically, as he slowly drifted, exhausted, in to sleep.

'Zuko.'

Zuko felt a sharp jab to his upper right arm. Stirring slightly from his sleep, he murmured something incoherent before nestling his face deeper into the soft pillow.

'Zuko!'

That sharp jab again.

'Hmm?...What?...' He moaned without opening an eye.

'Zuko please…' this time she sounded much more desperate, and a jab much more of a shove. Zuko rocked lazily on the bed, wrenching open both sleep ridden eyes.

'Okay… okay, I'm up….What's wrong Tara?' Zuko stammered out his sentence, fighting off a trembling yawn, his eyes blurring with the strain. Even through his hazy, sleepy vision, he saw her slender face crumble. Katara nestled desperately into his chest. Placing his strong arm around her, He could feel her tremble as she buried her face into his light silk sleep robe.

'Hey… Tara…sshhh, hey….' He pulled her closer into him, his finger playing mindlessly in the tangles of her dark hair. 'Is it still the same?' he asked sympathetically, trying to impossibly angle his head to see her face.

Katara didn't lift her head from him torso, but nodded a frantic, definite Yes. Zuko sighed as he squeezed her tight to him. 'It's been weeks since….'

Zuko recalled the first time that Katara had jolted hysterically from her sleep, back when she was just one month gone. She had been having the same nightmare; night after night. She was often sketchy on the details, but she dreamt of the time she faced Hama, when she first used blood bending. She would dream of terrible things she could have done, wrenching the old woman's body at her will, filled with so much hatred. In this awful nightmare, Katara watched the elder lady die in all manner of gruesome and torturous ways.

Zuko rocked her gently against him, cradling her head softly against his chest. His own weary eyes drifting peacefully shut again as he spoke.

'I'm here Tara, you're okay…. It's just a dream….'

Katara shook her head frantically, grabbing handfuls of Zuko's silk robe.

'No… no, then why do I keep seeing it Zuko? Why can't it leave me alone?!'

He squeezed her tighter, bending awkwardly to kiss the top of her head.

'Tara you are exhausted, your mind is playing tricks with you.' He resumed tangling his fingers between her silky locks. 'You can't keep this up you know, it's too much work.' Zuko sighed, he loved Katara for her strong headedness, but she was her own worst enemy at times. 'Tara, I know the pregnancy is taking it out of you, you need to rest. You're my Fire Lady, anything you could ever want will be here for you.' Zuko gently rubbed his palm against the swelling flesh of Katra's belly.

'Both of you.' He smiled.

Katara smiled through her tears streaked façade. And adjusted her position to nestle up against Zuko, placing one slender hand on his chest, letting her fingers bury beneath the slight gaping robe, and rake gently against his bare skin.

'I wish I'd never met Hama… never even known of bloodbending…. It's like…like it's changed me…' she said, absent-mindedly, her tone flat and monotonous.

'Hey, You of all people…' Zuko tilted her head towards him, guiding her chin upwards with two curled fingers.

'You can make anything beautiful…. You'll see….' He smiled.

'Beautiful? Bending the blood within a living thing. Causing them pain and suffering.' Katara looked less hurt, more confused and disbelieving.

'It doesn't define you Tara… You define it.' Zuko laid his cheek sleepily against the top of her head, sleep calling loudly to him again.

Katara settled down beside him, still curled over his torso, and held firmly in his sleepy embrace.

He really is becoming his uncles 'son'. She mused, thinking over his last sweeping statement. She tried to cast the memories of Hama from her mind, feeling safe in Zuko's strong arms. Though the pull inside focused hard, on the tiny heartbeat, just starting to form inside her. She felt every minute pulse, ticking away so regimentally in sync with her own.