KATARA-
Katara sighed peacefully, as she lowered her body into the large tub full of freshly warmed water and leaned back against Aang. The warmth of the water soothed her aching back and swollen feet. She had been working all day at the healing center in Ba Sing Se and was exhausted. The pregnancy wasn't increasing her stamina either. She was 38 weeks today which meant that her and Aang would become parents any day now.
When she had gotten home, she announced that she was going to take a bath and had invited her
husband to join her. Happy to abandon his diplomatic duties for a while, he obliged.
"Are you okay?" Aang asked quietly, his chin resting on her head.
"mhmm" Katara hummed indicating that she was.
"You really should take it a little easier." She felt his hands as he gently rubbed her belly and she tipped her head to the side so that she could see his face.
Aang's eyebrows were knit together, and she could tell he was concerned. She smiled knowing that this was all new to him. Katara of course was very comfortable around pregnancy, she had helped her Gran-Gran deliver many babies by the time she was 14 years old. Everything was going well. She had had no problems throughout her pregnancy aside from the occasional nausea in the beginning.
She sat up and adjusted herself so that she could grab his face with both her hands. One of his hands was on her back, the other on her upper leg. She kissed him tenderly and with their foreheads still touching she said, "Everything is going the way it should, I promise. Now, would you just relax? You're leaving for a whole 3 days tomorrow, and I want to spend some nice time with my husband."
He nodded, but Katara could tell that he was still worried. She kissed him softly and as she began to sit back, he pulled her back hungrily. Pretty soon they were kissing passionately and Aang's hands began to dance across her body.
The mess wasn't too hard to clean up seeing that Katara and Aang were both waterbenders, but Katara left him to clean up the bath area while she dried herself off and put on a comfortable robe. It was one that her Gran-Gran had sent her. She loved wearing the colors of the water tribe. Aang finished quickly and joined her after he threw on a pair of trunks.
They climbed into bed and Katara was immediately asleep. When she woke up, she wasn't sure how long she had been sleeping, had it been minutes? Hours? It was still dark out.
Aang had whispered her name as he pulled her closer to his chest. "Do you think the baby will come while I'm away?"
"Is that what you've been so worried about?"
"Yeah," he held her tightly "What if you need me while I'm gone?"
"Aang, you should have told me sooner," She kissed him.
"I'm sorry"
"Don't be sorry, I just hate that you got so upset about it. I'm going to be fine. I saw Yin yesterday and she said she thinks I've got at least another week if not more." Aang nodded as he rolled onto his back.
Katara snuggled into his armpit her belly propped against his side. She started tracing his tattoos down his head, down his arms, down his back, back up, repeat. This was something she had discovered put him to sleep quickly, soon after they started dating seriously.
Before long Aang was breathing rhythmically and his grip on her loosened. She fell asleep as well and they dreamed happily.
The next day, Aang was anxious again. He was pacing around their room as Katara packed up a few last-minute things for him.
"You have to promise you'll send a messenger hawk if anything happens, okay?"
"I will," she promised, "but that means you have to focus on your avatar duties and stop worrying."
Before he could respond there was a knock at the door. Aang crossed the room and opened it. "Zuko, how are you?"
"I'm well, thanks" Zuko entered their house and nodded at Katara. "Are you ready to go?"
Before Aang could respond Katara patted the bag she had just finished packing and said, "He is! Be careful, okay?"
Zuko nodded again. Aang moved toward Katara and picked up the bag. He kissed her softly "I love you. I'll be home soon."
The rest of the day was boring. Katara cleaned up the house a little bit before heading to the healing center for the day. She worked on countless people with fevers and broken bones.
One patient was a small Firenation girl who was about 5 years old. The mother had brought her in for a sore tummy. After gaining the child's trust with a small candy, she brought her over to the pool to attempt to figure out what the problem was.
"Oh yes, I see the problem her stomach looks very distended," she told the mother after dressing the girl down into her underclothes, "nothing I can't fix though." She added with a smile at the concerned mother.
"What is distended?" the little girl asked as Katara began to bend the water around her.
"Distended means that your tummy is hard and poking out, but don't worry it's probably just a little bit of gas or constipation." Katara replied.
"Do you have constipation and gas?" the little girl asked, "Because your tummy is really big."
"On ji!" her mother scolded, "I'm so sorry."
Katara laughed at the question and the mother's concern. After she finished with the little girl, she helped her mother dry her off and get her dressed again.
After the little girl giggled and left with her mother, the rest of the day moved quickly and before she knew it, was welcoming her last patient of the day. "Hi, what's going on today?" she asked with her back still turned to the curtain separating the room from the waiting area. When she turned around, she was surprised, "Toph!"
"Hey Katara," she waved slightly, her blind eyes looking at the wall. "I don't really need anything. Twinkle Toes asked me to check up on you while he was gone. I thought making an appointment was the easiest way to find you."
"Oh! Well, I told Aang I'm fine." Katara started to clean up her area, draining the pool and filling it with clean water for the next day.
"You think I don't know that?" she said sarcastically, smirking "You and I both know that Aang is freaking out about this whole being-a-dad thing. I'm just doing my part, plus I knew it would annoy you"
"Well thanks for wasting my time!" Katara called over her shoulder jokingly as she passed the blind girl and headed towards the door. An earth wall rose in front of her. "What, Toph?"
"Listen, I know that you're fine and you know that you're fine, but Aang asked me to stay with you while he was away."
Katara rolled her eyes and sighed, "Come on then, what do you want for dinner?"
When they arrived back at the house Katara made dinner and Toph as at the table grumbling about how dumb her new metalbending recruits were.
After they had eaten, Katara was exhausted, again. She was starting to miss Aang too. Even though he had been leaving for trips since they had gotten married, she was still not used to having him gone.
She didn't bother to make up a bed for Toph because she knew the blind girl preferred to sleep on the floor so that she could "see" better. "Goodnight."
Toph responded with a grunt.
Katara woke up during the night to a cramping in her belly. She contemplated whether she might be in labor but decided that it must just be false contractions. After all, her midwife Yin had told her she had at least another week.
Then again, Katara knew that her and Aang sleeping together last night could have progressed her more than if they had not, but she didn't tell Aang. He would just be worried, and she didn't think it would be a problem.
She got out of bed and snuck to the kitchen, trying not to wake Toph. The girl was laying on her stomach with her face tucked under an arm.
When Katara was walking back to bed she thought she heard a sniffle. "Toph?" She asked. There was no response.
After her drink of water, the pain subsided, and she was able to fall asleep again.
The next morning Katara woke to the sunrise and more cramping in her belly. It still wasn't an overwhelming pain, but it was definitely worse than last night. To distract herself from the thoughts swirling through her head, she decided to make breakfast.
"Sleep okay?" Toph asked as Katara came out of the room.
"Yes. You?" Katara began making some sweet buns in the kitchen.
"I did, but you want to know something that bothered me all night?" Katara turned her attention to the blind girl. They were friends of course, but they weren't super close. She was surprised that Toph would open up to her. "You! Walking around all night."
"Sorry," Katara wasn't surprised that this was a complaint instead of a heart-to-heart. She made a mental note to try to connect more with the girl. With the way it went with her parents after the 100-year war, and Toph's reaction of throwing caution to the wind was concerning her.
Katara knew that directly confronting was not the way to go. She had to wait until Toph was ready to talk about it.
Continuing with her sweet buns, Katara waited for the girl to speak again. Toph appeared uncomfortable so she was going to suggest the blind girl come with her to the market this morning, but she was cut off by another pain.
She took a deep breath, steadying herself on the counter. The pain was in her back this time and it was more intense than the small cramping she had felt last night.
"Katara?" Toph was at her side. She hadn't even seen her walk over.
"I'm okay." She said, still trying to breathe away the pain.
"You and I both know that lying will get you nowhere with me." Toph placed a hand on Katara's shoulder. "Why don't you go take a bath, I'll send word to Aang."
"No Toph," the pain had eased and Katara followed the girl as she walked toward the door, "I don't want him to miss his meeting. It's really important that he do his job as the Avatar."
"You know that Aang's first priority is you. Yeah, he's the Avatar, but he's also your husband and I think that the birth of his firstborn is more important than a dinky meeting."
Katara nodded "Could you go find Yin first? She's my midwife."
"Of course, and Katara?" Toph hugged her, "good luck."
When Yin arrived Katara was relieved. She had continued walking around and doing chores around the house to distract herself from the pain, but it was getting difficult. The midwife quickly checked Katara's progress.
"Well, you've still got some time, seeing as this is your first baby, but I would go ahead and send word to Avatar Aang." The midwife helped Katara sit up in the bed.
"My friend already has."
Yin nodded, "Well, since you aren't delivering right now, I'm going to go back to my shop and pick up some more tools. It'll be about a two-hour trip, I suggest you relax, get in the tub or lay down, okay?"
Katara nodded. When Yin was gone, she undressed into her underclothes and got into the tub. Using her bending she kept the water at a comfortable temperature by moving the cold water into a pot that was boiling and circulating it with the warmed water.
As another contraction started, she became frightened. She used her healing to swirl the water around the tub, it did relieve some of the pain but not all of it.
She discovered that her most comfortable position was on her knees with her arms resting on the edge. It gave enough support that she wasn't exhausting herself, but enough gravity that the pressure from the baby wasn't in her back.
The contractions continued to increase in intensity. When she had been alone for what felt like four hours, she was starting to get. She was breathing heavily with her eyes squeezed tightly when she heard someone enter the house. The footsteps were quick and moving toward her.
"Katara!" It was Aang. Katara felt immediate relief of her anxiety about being alone, but she was still contracting and couldn't move. She felt Aang's hands on her shoulders. "I'm here."
With a sigh the pain passed and Katara was able to look up at her husband. He was kneeling in front of her with his eyebrows knit together as he searched her face and eyes. She put a hand on his face, "I'm glad you're here."
"What can I do?" He asked softly, still rubbing her arms.
Katara shook her head, "Nothing, just be here."
Before he could say anything else, Yin returned. "Sorry about that, there was traffic. Avatar Aang, I'm glad you could join us!" She smiled bowing her head and knelt next to him. She reached into the tub and put a hand on Katara's belly and closed her eyes.
Another contraction started and Katara put her head back down on her arms. She tried to focus on her breathing, but the pain was getting worse. She moaned softly. She felt Aang's face by her ear.
"You're doing so good." He rubbed her arms and shoulders, focusing on where her muscles were tightening in pain, reminding her to relax. After another hour Katara's contractions seemed to slow down. She would have a small one and there would be ten to fifteen minutes in between.
"I'm thinking the tub is relaxing you too much," Yin said after a particularly light contraction that Katara was even able to talk through, "I would like for you to go take a walk."
"Outside?" Aang asked with a confused look on his face. "She's having a baby!"
"It's very normal and very good for kicking labor up a notch. Katara, once you start walking that baby will drop down and I'm hoping that by the time you get around the block you'll be going strong enough to get back in the tub."
"Katara if you don't want to, you don't have to." Aang told her.
She laughed at his concern, "No, I think it's a good idea. In our tribe we used to have the moms walk around the house, but we couldn't send them outside because it was too cold. I think it will help."
Aang helped her stand. She had to pause when she was up. She had not realized how much the buoyancy of the water was helping take the pressure of the baby off. When Katara was dressed in a comfortable loose dress they started out around the block.
It was about a 10-minute walk if you were speed walking so Katara imagined they would be out for maybe 20 minutes. Hand in hand, her and Aang began to round the first corner of the block when she felt a strong contraction. The pain rippled from the top of her belly down and then through her hips and pelvis. She stopped, still clutching Aang's hand.
"Okay," he said quietly when she stopped, He positioned himself so that he was standing in front of her, and she could lean forward on him, "Take a breath."
Katara gasped as the pain peaked and her knees felt weak. She wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and dropped her weight. Aang was strong and he was not affected by holding Katara's weight pregnant or not. He rubbed her back until she felt like she could walk again and then they continued around the corner.
"This is going to be a long walk," She sighed.
"Do you want to turn around?" Aang asked sincerely.
"No, this is working. As much as it hurts, Aang, I just want this to be done." She said.
Katara's estimate of a 20-minute walk was completely wrong. When they finally got back to the house an hour later, Katara was exhausted. Her contractions were increasing in frequency, so they had been stopping for contractions every 5 minutes.
"Oh good! I was about to come looking for you." Yin smiled as they entered the house. "Why don't you and I go have a look-see?"
Katara nodded and took Yin's hand, letting her lead her back to the bedroom. As she was entering the room, she heard a knock on the door.
She let Yin lay her on the bed and check her progress.
AANG-
Aang was happy to see Sokka, Suki, and Toph when he opened the door. "Hey guys, thanks for coming, but there's still no baby."
"How long has she been in labor now?" Suki asked.
"20 hours by my math," Toph spoke up.
"Yeah, it's been a while." Aang sighed as he remembered his concern and fear for his wife. "Hopefully not too much longer though. Thanks for the hawk, Toph. What have you guys been up to."
"Well, apparently Toph in moving into a new apartment, again!" Sokka said pointedly.
"Listen, Sokka," Toph pointed a finger in his direction, "I know you don't approve of how I live my life, but it's not really any of your business anyway."
"Aang, tell her that she needs to stop acting like this," Sokka attempted to pull Aang into the argument. Suki looked at Aang pointedly and rolled her eyes.
Aang sighed, Toph and Sokka had been arguing constantly for months now. Every time they were together there was a fight that either ended in Toph earth bending wherever they were into a mess, or Sokka making a complete scene. He was fed up. "Look guys, it's none of my business, you guys are friends and the fact that you're acting like this is driving everyone crazy. Sokka, Toph is an adult and can take care of herself, she's smart and you don't need to tell her what to do." Toph laughed childishly. "Toph, Sokka cares about you and your safety. He isn't trying to control you; he just is worried. Now, my wife is having a baby and I'm about to be a dad! I'm freaking out. I never even had a dad!"
When Aang looked up his friends were staring at him with a mixture of surprise and concern. Sokka opened his mouth to say something that Aang could only imagine was sarcastic or meant to be a joke, but before he spoke, he heard Katara cry out from behind the bedroom door.
He bolted to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked, "Katara!" he called as he pounded on the door, "Katara!"
Soon Yin came to the door, but Aang darted past her. Katara was laying in the tub again with an arm over her eyes. She was breathing heavily. Aang grabbed her hand. He didn't know how else he could help. "I'm here, what happened?"
"It was just a contraction, Aang. Yin said I still have a while to go," When she put her arm down to look at him, tears glistened in her eyes, "I just want it to be over."
Aang could see the exhaustion and pain in her face. But he didn't know how to help.
KATARA-
"What can I do?" Aang asked her as he rubbed her shoulders gently.
She didn't know what she needed. She was exhausted and in pain, she was scared, and she felt very alone. "Just don't leave again. Don't let go of me." She didn't know why but the touch of him was almost a relief. The fact that he was there just helped.
"You can get in with her," Yin told Aang.
Aang looked at Katara, and she nodded. She wanted his as close as he could get. She wanted him to hold her tight and make her forget that this was even happening.
Aang took off his tunic top and stripped down to his undershorts. He climbed into the tube behind Katara and let her lay back on him. Just like he had a few nights ago. When she felt another contraction starting, she grabbed his knees on either side of her to brace herself.
She sucked in air sharply as the pain quickly worsened, she leaned forward still holding tightly to Aang. He rubbed her back and spoke gently to her. She could not actually hear the words, but they were comforting, nonetheless.
This continued, and, to Katara's dismay, the contractions started coming father apart and less intense. She hoped that Yin would not notice, but soon she was standing over her, pressing on her belly, watching for another contraction. She had a thoughtful look on her face and before Katara could ask what was the matter, there was a knock at the bedroom door.
The door opened a small crack and Suki popped her head in the room. "Hey, do you guys need any help in here? I helped deliver a lot of babies back on Kyoshi Island."
"I would love a second pair of hands, but that is up to Katara." Yin looked to her.
"Yeah," Katara smiled tiredly, "Is everything okay out there?"
"I guess," Suki appeared disgruntled, "Sokka and Toph are still fighting."
Katara nodded her understanding but was silent because another contraction was starting. Suki knelt by the tub and spoke softly to Katara, demonstrating how to breathe and helping her to relax.
After another two hours of laboring in the tub Yin decided that Katara needed to get back out. "The water is just slowing you down too much. I don't want you to be completely exhausted before the hard part even starts." She chuckled.
"This isn't the hard part?!" Aang asked in horror.
Dismissing Aang's comment, Katara pleaded with Yin, "Please, I really don't want to get out. It's so much worse out of the tub."
"You can stay a little longer, but if you don't have another contraction within the next ten minutes, I would suggest we move to the bed." Katara nodded and felt Aang's arm wrap around her in comfort. She knew that her labor was slowing down, but she didn't want it to get worse.
"It has to get worse before it gets better unfortunately," Yin said reading her thoughts.
Ten minutes passed and no contraction. Katara begrudgingly rose from the tub, and she put on a loose top. Katara was sitting at the edge of the bed with Suki, Aang came to stand in front of her he had also dried off and put his tunic and pants back on. He stood between her legs, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her forehead on his belly.
"Aang," She whispered, desperately trying to communicate the rapid onsetting pain as her contractions began to pick up again. She grabbed handfuls of his shirt on either side and pulled him closer to her, her breath catching as she tried to breathe through the pain.
"Oh!" She screamed as she felt a sudden onset of pressure. She looked down to see fluid running from between her legs onto the floor.
"What's happening?" Aang asked urgently as Yin began mopping up the floor. Katara was still holding on to him tightly and he did not let her go.
"It's okay, Aang," Suki assured him, "It's normal, she just getting really close now. Katara, do you want to lay back on the bed?"
Katara nodded and let Suki and Aang help her to recline on a mound of pillows. Aang sat at the edge of the bed on her left. His right arm around her shoulders his left hand holding hers.
As the next contraction started Katara began to feel frantic. The pain was intense, and she felt completely out of control. She squeezed Aang's hand and tried to brace herself against the bed. "Yin! What's happening?" She cried.
"Baby is coming soon Katara," Yin said calmly taking her place at Katara's feet. She pushed back her top and checked Katara's progress. "Almost time to push but not quite yet."
She whimpered as the pain ebbed and she had a small break. She felt Aang's nose on her ear, telling her softly that she was doing good. He was telling her how strong she was and how wonderful of a mother she would be.
A contraction started and she couldn't keep herself from crying aloud. "Help me! Please!" She held onto Aang and squeezed her eyes tightly trying not to push, willing this to just be over.
She heard a pounding at the door and Sokka's raised voice, "Hey! What's going on in there? Is everything okay?"
Suki excused herself and went to the door. She opened it so that Sokka could see her and not Katara. "It's okay, Sokka, this is normal."
"It doesn't sound normal," Katara could hear the concern in her brother's voice but there was nothing she could do about it now.
Another pain started and Katara decided that she didn't care if Yin wanted her not to push. This baby was coming now. She bore down letting out a moan as she did. She heard a ruckus as Suki pushed Sokka out of the room, leaving with him to calm him down.
The pushing helped the contraction pains but caused another more uncomfortable burning sensation as her body accommodated the baby. She could hear Aang and Yin talking but could not comprehend their words. She felt Aang grab behind her leg and help her to hold it back when she pushed.
"I see hair!" Yin said softly as the baby began to crown.
Katara could not tell if she was crying because of the pain, the excitement, the fear, but she was crying. When the contraction slowed for a moment, she opened her eyes to see Aang was crying too. She touched his face and his kissed her hand.
"Last big push, Katara." Yin told her as another pain started.
Katara put her last bit of effort into pushing her baby into the world. She felt relief and a flood of emotions as Yin placed the tiny baby on her chest. She covered the baby with a blanket and began to rub the back, soon the baby was crying appropriately.
Katara now knew that her tears were from joy, as were Aang's. "We did it." She whispered to him, looking at their child.
"You did it," He said softly lifting the baby blanket to get a full look at their child, "it's a boy."
Katara laughed, "A son." She closed her eyes and rested her head on Aang's arm. She was completely exhausted.
When Yin had finished delivering the placenta, she cleaned Katara up and helped her get comfortable.
Katara offered her breast to her son, and he greedily accepted. Soon there was a timid knock at the door and Aang nodded to Yin. She opened the door and allowed Sokka, Suki, and Toph into the room.
"It's so tiny!" Suki crooned as she made her way to the bedside to get a look at the new baby. "What is it?"
"It's a boy," Aang smiled looking down at his son. "Everyone, this is Bumi."
"Is he supposed to look that wrinkly?" Sokka asked. Suki elbowed him sharply in the ribs.
"I think he looks perfect!" Toph said sarcastically. "Congratulation's twinkle-toes, you're officially a dad. How does it feel?"
Katara looked up at Aang as he looked at her with a tear in his eye. He looked back at their small family and hugged his wife close. "It feels wonderful."