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Trips to Ember Island always had the purpose of being relaxing, and yet, they never were.
As the years went on and the number of family members multiplied, the safe haven from work and worldly duties could still be forgotten, but the responsibility of being a parent remained present.
Still, Katara and Zuko couldn’t help but invite their friends for a fun, “relaxing” vacation to their Ember Island home. Sometimes they invited the whole group at once, but recently, they took up the habit of inviting individual families at a time.
This vacation: The Beifongs.
Katara simply couldn’t wait, either. Sure, Toph and Kanto and their whole brood of girls proved to be challenging, but Izumi and Kya adored them all, and she couldn’t deny her girls time with their honorary aunt and uncle and cousins.
A smile crept on her face as she thought of the Beifong’s. They were the most chaotic and adorable family she had the privilege of knowing, and that was saying something considering that Sokka and Aang’s family were also in that pool.
But the silent statement remained true, because while Toph and Kanto never had any explicit intention of having a big family, they fell into the role effortlessly (well, that was how it appeared on the outside at least). Chaotic schedules, impromptu food fights, and sassy bickerings were a part of their everyday life. But squished in between their action-packed days were little pockets of the sweetest moments between Toph and the girls, Kanto and the girls, and the family as a whole. Moments that filled Katara’s heart with love and admiration for her friends.
And even when their lives were turned upside down after a miscarriage of a baby they so desperately wanted, Toph and Kanto focused on the children they had. They found additional purpose with a little one who wasn’t family by blood, but was a mini Beifong in the making. And not because her cloudy green eyes resembled Toph’s.
Needless to say, Katara grew exceptionally close with Toph over the years, and the fact that she could witness the family grow was a fact she never took for granted.
So she waited by the railing on the deck of their vacation home, counting down the minutes until Toph and Kanto arrived.
It wasn’t long before Katara saw them, and the Beifong girls ran like the tiny stampede they were. Lin and Suyin, the oldest, led the way toward the beach, followed by the twins Xinyi and Xie, who adorably ran to the sea hand in hand. Jie led her younger sister Mei toward their siblings, with Jie showing great patience and care for the 4-year-old who always had an attitude (unless, of course, she was with Jie).
Against better judgment, Katara simply had to run to greet all her little nieces. All of them had an attitude like their mother, but their father’s goofiness and energy.
And she missed them all so much.
She ran down the steps and toward the beach as fast as she could, just in time to be swarmed by a sea of girls with black hair and green eyes.
“My girls!” she exclaimed. “How are you all doing?”
“Good, Ayi,” Lin replied with a smile. “Su got sick on the way here, though.”
“Did not!”
“It took us for forever to get here!” wallowed Xinyi, who looked to be on the verge of collapsing on the sand dramatically with the back of her hand on her forehead. Xie nodded solemnly in agreement.
“Hi, Ayi!” Jie called out from the mini crowd. The little girl reached out her hands, and Katara crouched down. She placed Jie’s hands in her own and smiled. “Hi my darling. How are you?”
“Good, but Baba is already worried about me,” she giggled.
“Well, we’ll straighten him out before the trip is over, don’t you worry.”
Jie nodded eagerly, and as Katara’s thumbs brushed over her niece’s fingers, she could tell that Jie was itching to see Katara. So she guided the girl’s hands to her face, and allowed her to capture the details in her own way.
Her focus was intense, but Jie always had a soft smile on her face, and it was contagious.
When she finished, Katara gave Jie a big kiss on the cheek, tickling her sides for a second while she did so. And from behind her big sister, Mei emerged with the biggest pout on her face and her hair looking rather puffy because of the humidity.
“Hi Mei, how are you today?” Katara asked.
“Hmph.”
“She’s tired,” Jie responded for Mei. “Her nap was cut short.”
“Well, we can always go inside to nap. I’m sure Zuzu will nap with you if you ask him.”
Mei’s pout flickered for just a moment, but even at four, the little one was stubborn at keeping her grump facade together.
From afar, Katara saw the figures of her friends approaching, and immediately, she knew something was up.
Toph and Kanto looked happy to be on the island for sure, and the way that their fingers were intertwined together made Katara’s heart melt. But as they drew closer to the waterbender, Toph seemed under the weather.
A very certain kind of under the weather…
Judging just on external changes to Toph’s body, Katara knew that she was pregnant. But as they arrived to gather up all their children, she felt the telltale heartbeat through her waterbending that confirmed Katara’s suspicions.
And Katara smirked like crazy when she hugged Toph.
“Hey, Sugar Queen,” Toph sighed. “Sorry we’re late.”
“Oh, don’t worry, we’re used to it.”
“Sweet.”
“You don’t call me Sweetness for nothing.”
Toph let out a groan, but before she could respond, Kanto ran up to Katara to give her a platypus bear hug. “Katara! So good to see you. The girls have been dying to come here.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you’re here now because I wouldn’t know what I’d do without my nieces!”
Kanto grinned, but before he could open guys mouth to respond, Lin shouted at him. “Baba, we’re gonna go swim with Kya and Izumi!”
Like a newly lit match, Kanto’s eyes brightened at the sound of his name. He was in full baba-mode now, and Katara enjoyed seeing his protective side. “Okay but be careful! And Jie! Jie, are you sure you’re okay by the water?”
“I got it, Baba!” Jie hollered back.
“Okay but if you need us you know what to do—”
“Come on, Baba, make sandcastles with me.” She took her father’s hand, and that was the end of the conversation.
Jie had Kanto wrapped around her little fingers. As a matter of fact, all the girls had Kanto wrapped around their fingers.
When the girls and Kanto ran off to the beach, Katara let out a content sigh and turned back to Toph. “Shall we go inside?”
“Yeah, I could use a nap.”
The Ember Island house was modest, but cozy for the two families. Earthy floors replaced the rickety wooden panels, and the walls were lightly lined with decorations that held value to the royal family. It was without much fuss or fanfare, and it was just how Katara preferred things, much like how she enjoyed cutting straight to the case with her best friend.
After settling down at the table with a freshly brewed pot of tea, Katara asked, “So, how are you feeling?”
“What? I’m—I’m fine, Sugar Queen.” Toph’s voice was calm, nonchalant. And while Toph was the one with the fancy earthbending lie detector skills, Katara was somewhat of a lie detector as well. A Toph lie detector.
There wasn’t anything that Toph could hide from Katara these days, especially after knowing her for almost thirty years. Toph’s words said she was fine, but Katara knew that she was exhausted.
So she offered an opening for a conversation about it. “You seem more tired than usual.”
“Traveling all day with six girls and a husband will do that.”
“Okay, well, have you been taking your supplements for the baby?”
“What baby?”
Katara actually laughed at that. It was obvious to her that Toph was expecting, and there was absolutely no way that Toph didn’t know about her condition. So seeing her knitted eyebrows and her scowl added to the humor. Toph was really playing it dumb. “C’mon Toph, don’t play around. You’re pregnant.”
“No, I’m not,” she pouted.
Katara rolled her eyes. “And I’m a penguin.”
“Must you be so annoying?”
“When you’re being stubborn? Always.”
Toph let out a frustrated groan, rubbing her hands over her face. “Listen, if I don’t say it, it’s not real. Just give me a sec to warm up to the idea of another kid.”
Spirits, was the woman really in this much denial? “Well, you better be warmed up, mama. Because you’ve got another one on the way.”
“I can’t be pregnant! I’m old!”
“Forty isn’t that old, Toph,” she sighed. “You can be forty and pregnant, which you are.”
“That’s… your opinion.”
“My—no, it’s a fact.”
“And that’s… your prerogative.”
“Why are you so stubborn.”
“It’s in my blood.”
“You know what’s also in you?”
“Don’t—”
“A baby.”
With a huff, Toph slid down her seat and grumbled, “I hate you.”
The waterbender couldn’t resist chuckling. It had been so long since she had her last “sisterly” spat with Toph, and Toph in Denial was one of Katara’s favorite modes. She was so short with her responses and whiny, and it usually led to Katara’s mini victory.
And with a proud smirk on her face, Katara countered, “That’s also a lie. You’re full of those today.”
Toph placed her head in her hands, mumbling obscenities. “We can’t have another kid. We already have six!”
“Gonna be seven now.”
“Funny.”
“Not funny—true.”
“Not if I don’t say it is.”
“Toph,” Katara sighed. Now, this whole denial act was getting on her nerves. “I swear—you’re pregnant. Knocked up.”
“Nope.”
“You are.”
Toph shook her head. “No I’m not. I’m too old.”
“You’ve already said that, and I’ve already told you. No you’re not too old.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you’re forty and pregnant. That’s how I know.”
“I did not just spend a whole day on the train just to be…attacked by your ridiculous predictions.”
“Predictions?” Katara deadpanned.
“So if you’ll excuse me,” Toph began, standing up in the process. “I’m going to lie down on the beach with my family.”
Katara stood up too. “Good idea, then I can follow and talk to Kanto about the baby.”
“Don’t!”
“Well, you’re being ridiculous and you leave me no choice but to talk with your husband—”
“Katara I swear to—don’t tell him.”
There was a certain tone in Toph’s voice—fear. It wasn’t often Katara heard that in Toph’s voice, but it was unmistakable. And when she looked over at her friend and found her frozen in place and wide-eyed, Katara knew something else was bothering her best friend.
“He—he doesn’t know?” she asked Toph.
Toph collapsed back into her seat. If it was possible, she looked more exhausted now than when she first arrived on the island. “I—I can’t tell him. Not yet.”
She sat back down in her chair, rather puzzled by Toph’s response. Why wouldn’t she tell Kanto? He was a great father and husband, and even though it would be another baby to their already chaotic family, they’d be able to manage.
So Katara had to ask her. “Why not, Toph? He won’t be upset. You know him, he adores the girls, I’m sure he’ll be so excited.”
“That’s why I can’t tell him,” she whispered.
“Toph—”
“This—this is gonna be so risky, isn’t it? And it’s not like I haven’t lost one before—” her voice caught in her throat. “I can’t tell him if it’s giving him false hope.”
Oh, Spirits. She was worried about the pregnancy. It was understandable, too, considering they suffered a miscarriage not too long ago. At least, it felt like it was yesterday, even though it had been years. Toph and Kanto were devastated, and had they not met and adopted Jie, Katara wondered how they were going to climb back up to the surface. Jie was their little miracle, and baby Mei a year or so after was their happy accident.
But Katara still remembered how stressed the two of them were during that pregnancy. The entire time, Toph was on eggshells, every move and minuscule pain flooded her mind with the worst case scenario, and even after Katara ensured Toph and Kanto that everything was fine, they never felt comfortable with that response. They were vigilant and restless and stressed the entire time.
And now, with baby number seven on the way, and years after they had their last child, Katara feared that they may find themselves down that rabbaroo hole once again.
However, Katara wasn’t here to remind Toph of the risk factors. Instead, she shoved down her own concerns, took a deep breath, and shook her head. “Don’t think that way.”
Toph let out a tired sigh as she groaned, “Katara, be serious—”
“I am being serious, Toph. Sure, you’ve had a miscarriage and that’s put you two on edge, especially after having Mei, but you’ve given birth to five healthy babies. I don’t see any reason why you can’t give birth to another healthy baby.”
“But it’s too—I’m forty, Katara. Women don’t have kids at my age.”
“Not… normally,” she relented. “But again, you’ve got a very healthy track record, and sure, I would be much more careful this time around, but that doesn’t mean you have to worry.”
Toph’s head hung low, and while her bangs covered her eyes, tears fell onto her hands and the table. “I can’t lose another one, Katara. I just—I can’t.”
Katara, putting hands over Toph’s. “Then let’s do everything in our power to make sure that doesn’t happen, okay?”
And then there was the smile from Toph. The faint, hopeful smile that everything would turn out alright, and even if it didn’t, they’d manage. They resolved to do everything they could to keep the baby safe and healthy, and anything else would just be circumstances they worked with.
It was a smile that meant she was comforted by everything that was said, and it was a smile that meant she was ready for whatever road lay ahead.
And when they finally allowed themselves to be happy about this surprise baby, Toph was really, truly happy, and Katara couldn’t have been happier for her friend.
…...
The day and evening vacation festivities continued without a hitch, and even though Katara promised she wouldn’t say anything to Kanto, she couldn’t help but glance in their direction every now and again to see if there was a big reveal.
Unfortunately for Katara, no such reveal had been made yet.
But, Katara was a woman of her word and planned to help Toph keep the baby a secret until she was ready. For her own sake, Katara hoped the reveal would be soon.
With the sun set and the children’s evening festivities complete, the adults corralled the kids to the bedrooms for bedtime. And bedtime with the Beifongs was… a challenge.
The older girls, while they didn’t need their hands to be held as pajamas were put on and teeth were brushed, showed a side of rebellion and ran in every direction to avoid capture. It also seemed that Kya made up a game for them to play as they ran around the house, and the other girls had no trouble playing along, giggling and squealing all throughout the house.
The little girls, on the other hand, were a force to be reckoned with. Xinyi and Xie turned on the waterworks the second Kanto said “bedtime,” and while Mei didn’t cry, she refused to get up from her comfortable spot in the living room. It took Kanto and Zuko to pry her from her seat, and even then, getting her ready for bed was an uphill battle.
Still, no matter the fight or the breakdowns that were performed, Katara, Zuko, Toph, and Kanto found a way to persevere and managed to wrangle all the kids into their respective pajamas, brush their teeth, and tucked into bed.
And, thank the spirits, but all the girls were fast asleep before long.
Bedtime routines complete, Katara let out a content sigh as she sat in a living room chair next to her friends and husband. She glanced over at Toph and Kanto, finding them to be wiped out from the ordeal as well. There were days when it felt like a miracle that the children cooperated when it was time for bed, and today was one of those days.
Zuko was the first to speak “They actually went to bed. Without a fuss.”
“Sparky, it took like an hour to get them to sleep.”
“That counts as without a fuss, okay?”
“You sound like Kanto,” she mumbled.
“Good, and maybe now, I can sound like Sokka,” he replied with an unusual amount of cheer in his voice.
Zuko stood up and walked over to the kitchen, opening up the top cabinet where he housed his favorite liquors.
Oh, spirits…
Like, actual spirits, and Toph wouldn’t be able to drink any. And Toph wasn’t one to decline a glass. If Katara and Toph were going to cover this up for a few days longer, they’d have to really play it up right now.
Katara watched with wide eyes as Zuko held up four glasses and an unopened bottle of liquor and playfully (but quietly) hollered, “And in celebration of our victory, everyone needs to take a glass!”
Kanto chuckled, “Okay, you really did sound like Sokka just then.”
“And if Sokka were here, he’d demand that we all have drink, so everyone get over here so we can toast our vacation.”
“Um, not us ladies,” Katara piped in. “Toph and I are…cutting back on our alcohol.”
“Katara, you asked me to buy this for us,” Zuko groaned. “You said that this was the year we had to all drink together!”
Kanto nodded his head. “And Toph isn’t cutting back—”
“She is now, Kanto,” Katara interrupted.
Kanto let out a laugh and shook his head. “Good joke, Katara. But Toph doesn’t cut back unless she’s pregnant, and she’s not.”
The room grew painfully awkward and quiet. And before long, the men turned their heads to look at Toph, who was uncharacteristically quiet after such a statement.
That was when Kanto’s eyes widened rather comically. “Wait…Toph?”
Katara watched as her friend’s cheeks went red and she shifted in her seat. “I uh,” she began, clearing her throat in the process as well. “I was gonna tell you. Tonight, or tomorrow.”
“You—you’re pregnant?” he asked.
Toph let out a quiet sniffle, and any tough act she put on earlier started to break. Kanto stood up and approached his wife in her seat, and she began to ramble. “Yeah. And it’s probably gonna be a risky pregnancy and I very well could lose it and—”
“Come here, babe.” He pulled her into his arms, and sitting back down once he held her close. He placed his hands on her face and his forehead against hers, and just as Katara expected, the smile on Kanto’s face was unmistakable. “We’re gonna have another baby?”
A mix between a laugh and a sob came out of Toph’s mouth, likely because she was still in disbelief at all the events that transpired today. But she nodded against Kanto’s forehead and whispered, “As of right now, yes.”
Kanto’s smile somehow grew even bigger, and before Toph could say anything else, he pressed his lips to hers.
Katara couldn’t help but clap her hands in excitement for her friends. While rather unexpected and initially nerve wracking, Toph and Kanto were having another baby, and Katara was ecstatic at the prospect of another little Beifong running around the house.
Toph, of course, rolled her eyes at Katara and complained, “Okay, show’s over, Sugar Queen.”
“Oh shush, I’m allowed to be happy for my friends,” she scoffed.
“I’m with Katara on this one, Toph,” Kanto chuckled. “And Zuko, I think I’ll have that celebratory drink now. We’re having a baby!”
……
After some convincing, Toph and Kanto agreed to stay on the island a little longer given the news. Katara also extended her visit, and while Zuko couldn’t completely get out of his responsibilities, he requested that urgent matters be sent to the island for him to view while he was spending time with family.
Thankfully, even the most pressing matters didn’t require his attention the entire day.
Their days on vacation grew long but relaxing, and today was no exception. Katara sat on her little beach plot with some reading materials, but they were temporarily set aside in order to monitor the kids. She marveled at their energy and relentless desire to play in the sea. The girls could play on the beach all day, and after, they’d still want to run around the house and play tag. When bedtime rolled around they were already planning the next day, as if it were a nuisance that sleep would interrupt their play time with each other. For the adults that had to count the limbs on each kid as they ran out from the beach and into their dinner line, it was exhausting at times.
And yet Katara wouldn’t want it any other way.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the familiar figures of Toph and Kanto and smiled to herself. The two were in their own little world, a bubble of bliss that simply could not be popped even under the most trying environments. They had experienced ups and downs all throughout their relationship, and Katara could tell that even when life was stressful, they continued to make little pockets for them to lay together, to find joy in a particular time in their day, and to excitedly conjure up a future that had yet to be written.
They were happy. So, so happy, and no one was about to burst their bubble.