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the-badger-mole · 1 year

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No Sound But Silence: Gusts (Repost)

Katara spent two nights in the hospital. Once she was cleared to go home, Zuko and Hakoda seemed determined to make sure that her feet never touched the ground. Iroh even dug up a wheelchair from his storage closet. This, Katara found a bit excessive, but in the face of such strong insistence, what could she do? Sokka and Gran-Gran couldn’t make it to be with her in person (Sokka was going to meet Suki’s family and Gran-Gran and Pakku were out of town, too), still Sokka and Gran-Gran managed to call and text often enough to make Katara a bit relieved that they weren’t able to make it.

“I set you up in the living room,” Hakoda said. “Easy access to the kitchen and the downstairs bathroom. Plus, TV.”

“Dad-” Katara sighed.

“I’ll be here all week,” Zuko told her. “So if you need anything, just ask.”

“Guys-” Katara tried again.

“After two days of hospital food, I’m sure you’re starving,” Hakoda said. “I made some stew last night. How about I heat you up a bowl?”

“I can walk to the kitchen,” Katara reminded him, but Zuko was already steering her to the couch.

“The whole point is you’re supposed to rest,” Zuko said. “That’s the deal, remember? You rest and if Aunt Wu gives you the go ahead, you can go to school next week.”

“Yes, I know,” Katara huffed. “But I can do little stuff, like fix my own food. I broke my wrist, not my leg.” Zuko froze partway through putting a blanket over Katara’s legs. Katara shook his hand after a moment.

“Hey,” she said. “What’s wrong.” Zuko let go of the blanket and looked up at Katara. She was startled to see the tears in his eyes.

“I’ve never been that scared before,” he admitted.

“Zuko-” Katara’s hands cupped the sides of her fiance’s face. “Hey… I’m fine. The baby’s fine.”

“Yes, but there was a while when I didn’t know that,” Zuko said. “I just want to be sure you’re okay. Both of you.”

“Oh, Zuko…” Katara tugged on his arms and pulled him into a hug. Zuko held as tightly as he dared.

“Let us take care of you,” he pleaded. “Just for this week at least. Just until we know everything is okay.” All of Katara’s arguments died in her throat. She turned and kissed Zuko’s cheek.

“Alright,” she relented.

For the rest of the week, Katara was as good as her word. During the day, Zuko seemed to take great pleasure in running to fetch anything Katara wanted or needed. He sat through every cheesy romcom and crime thriller Katara was interested in seeing without complaint. Even in the evenings, when Hakoda was home to relieve him of his duty, Zuko stuck around until well after dinner to make sure that Katara was comfortable and safe.

“You can stay, you know,” Hakoda told him one night when Katara was getting ready for bed. “It’s not the most comfortable, but the sofa does pull out into a bed.” Zuko took him up on the offer. Katara didn’t know until the next morning when she found Zuko sleeping on the sofa.

“That pulls out into a bed, you know.”

“I know,” Zuko sat up and made space beside him on the couch. “Trust me, it’s more comfortable this way.” Katara sat beside him and curled into his side.

“We’ll need a nice big mattress when we move,” Katara said. “One of those ones where you can’t feel it when the other person is moving, and you can rest a glass of wine on one side and jump on the other.”

“I’ve slept on one of those,” Zuko said, wrinkling his nose. “They’re not as comfortable as they look. I like the hybrid mattresses. They’re soft, but have good support.” Katara made a face at him.

“We should see about getting a 30 day trial,” she said. “We take two months and try both types out, and then we decide which one to make our marital bed.”

“That’ll be fun,” Zuko groaned. “A two month mattress trial with a newborn,” Then he leaned down and kissed the bridge of Katara’s nose. “But you’re right. We should do it that way.” Katara settled into his side again and sighed contentedly.

“You want to watch Love Amongst the Dragons?” she asked. Zuko let out a heavy sigh.

“If you insist,” he replied with exaggerated exasperation as he stood up. “But after breakfast. Do you know if your dad wants anything to eat?”

“Dad left for work an hour ago,” Katara said, stretching her arms over her head. “He had a consult this morning.” Zuko froze and looked at Katara in horror.

“Did you come down the stairs by yourself?” He demanded. Katara glared up at him crossed her arms.

“Aunt Wu cleared me,” she reminded him. “Besides, I’m going back to school on Monday, so I may as well get used to getting around on my own again.”

“Katara-” Zuko pinched his nose and huffed.

“Zuko.” Katara folded her arms stubbornly. “I know you were scared when I had my fall. I was, too. But I can’t go the rest of this pregnancy in fear, alright?” Zuko tried to look stern, but faltered. Katara tugged him back down to the couch with her. “I’m fine. I’ve been checked and double checked, and we are both fine. You did an amazing job taking care of us this week, but we can’t live in fear because of this. I have another three months until the baby is born. I can’t spend them all avoiding stairs.”

“I know,” Zuko sighed and pressed his forehead to Katara’s. “I just wish I could be there with you.”

“Yeah, me too,” Katara laughed. “But I promise I’ll be very careful. Very, very careful.” Her promise was good enough for Zuko. It had to be.

They spent the day as they had spent most of spring break; on the couch watching old movies and bad reality TV. Despite her assertion that she was fine, Katara allowed Zuko to carry out frequent kitchen runs for snacks (mostly healthy at Zuko’s insistence) and to keep her covered in blankets, although the late winter weather had been surprisingly warm. She was both touched and exasperated by Zuko’s attentive care, but she ultimately submitted to it with little more than a token fuss. The truth was she loved it when Zuko was attentive like this. She just also hated feeling helpless, and she had felt helpless since the pregnancy test had come back positive. It made it difficult to fully enjoy Zuko’s efforts, and it made it difficult to tell him how grateful she truly was.

“Made us some tea,” Zuko said, pouring Katara a cup from the teapot Iroh had gifted her some time ago. “Uncle says this blend is supposed to help with calcium and bone health.” Katara stared at the cup for a moment before accepting it and setting it down on the table. Zuko looked at her in confusion for a moment before she pulled him into a tight hug.

“Thank you,” she said, blinking hard against the sudden sting of tears. “Thank you for taking such good care of me and our baby.” Zuko took a second to recover from his surprise and returned Katara’s embrace.

“It’s my honor,” he told her. “I love you.”

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Katara was napping when Hakoda got home, carrying takeout for that night’s dinner.. Zuko stroked her back absently while he flipped through the channels for something to watch. The grim set of Hakoda’s face made the younger man pause in his search and furrow his brow.

“Got a call from Katara’s principal,” Hakoda said. “Can you wake Katara up?”

A few minutes later, the three of them were sitting around the table with full plates, but no one was eating. Katara tapped the edge of her plate with her hashi distractedly.

“Maybe it’s nothing,” she said hopefully. “Maybe he just wants to check in because of the fall.”

“Maybe,” Hakoda agreed hesitantly. “He sounded pretty grim, though. Even after I told him that you and the baby were fine.”

“Do you think he’s going to kick me out?” Katara’s hand tightened around her hashi to the point where Zuko worried she’d snap the sticks in half.

“Piando isn’t like that,” Zuko assured her. “I’m sure it’s not that. Maybe he’s going to try to talk you into having a buddy when you’re going down the stairs.” Katara rolled her eyes at that.

“Great,” she snorted. “So he wants me to have a babysitter.”

“We don’t know what he wants,” Hakoda reminded her. “And there’s not much use making yourself crazy over it for the whole weekend. We have a meeting with the principal on Monday. We’ll find out what he wants then, and deal with whatever it is. Alright?” Katara reluctantly agreed, and before her father and fiance could say anything, she began to eat her meal.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Zuko insisted on going to the meeting on Monday with Katara and Hakoda. Privately, Hakoda was grateful. If Piando delivered bad news, it would be good to have extra support for his daughter. Katara’s temper could be quick at the best of times, now that she was pregnant and injured, the ice, Hakoda knew, was thin. Piando greeted the trio kindly, however, and if he was surprised to see Zuko, he didn’t mention it. His eyes landed on Katara’s cast and his face grew drawn.

“I’m glad to see you’re doing well, Ms. Imiq,” he said kindly. “You gave us quite a scare.”

“Thanks,” Katara said a bit too brightly. “I rested all last week, and I’m feeling just fine. If you’re worried about me attending classes-”

“Oh, no,” Piando said shaking his head. “That’s not why I asked you here today.” Katara sagged with visible relief. Her biggest worry was gone just like that. She thought she could handle whatever else Piando might say.

“The reason I called you in is because we were going through the schools security cameras last week, and we found something a bit disturbing.” Piando cleared his throat and turned his computer monitor so every one could see. The picture on the screen was grainy, but it was clearly from the stairs where Katara fell. He pressed play and a figure that was recognizable as Katara by her clothes and distended belly appeared on the screen. She took two steps down the flight when suddenly, a figure in a dark hoodie came up and shoved her. The viewers could see where Katara reached up and caught the rail to slow her fall, but then she landed head first on the hard floor at the bottom of the stairs. The figure hurried down after Katara, looked at her for a second and took off towards the gym locker rooms. There were no cameras in there, and if the person reemerged through the doors, it was after that period’s gym class in the rush of students hurrying to their lockers. Katara had already been rushed to the hospital by then. The video ended and Pianod turned to the family with a grim face.

“Someone did this to my daughter on purpose.” Hakoda’s voice was low and dangerous. “Who did it?” Piando shook his head solemnly.

“I’m trying to find out,” he said. “Unfortunately, our security cameras are very old, and there were at least 10 students who were late to class or skipped altogether. Our culprit was probably among them, and I’m sure we’ll figure out who it was sooner or later. Until then, I’m going to recommend not walking alone, Ms. Imiq. I’ll let your teachers know to excuse any tardies for you any whoever escorts you.”

Katara’s eyes were still fixed on the screen, and she hardly heard what was happening around her. Someone had tried to hurt her and her baby, she realized. Who, she wondered, would do that to her?

Part 1…, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29

#atla #zutara #no sound but silence #the plot thinckens #lol! this is becoming a soap opera #stay tuned for the exciting continuation #repost #because for some reason the link isn't working from the original post #and i can't figure out how to fix it #tumblr is a cesspit #garbage barge of a site #original posted on feb-22-2023 #THE YEAR OF CONTENT!!!!

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