Redeemed (Sokka x O.C.) ‐ Finished- Trigger Warning In Discription

61: Missing Aang

Suki knocked on Tu Cho's door. "Can I put Kita to bed?"

Tu Cho lifted her head from Katara's chest with a small nod. Her throat was tight from crying and she couldn't speak so Katara said, "Come in, Suki."

She opened the door and closed it behind her. "Are you okay?"

"Does she know?" Katara whispered. Tu Cho nodded.

Suki laid the sleeping baby in her bassinet. She noticed the still unrolled picture of the family. "You told her." Suki sat beside Tu Cho, opposite of Katara. "So... Katara... what are you thinking right now?"

"That... seems like... a complicated question, Suki..." She took a deep breath. "But... Tu Cho, I want you to understand that I don't care what you once were. I trust you because my brother does and so do all of the other people I trust. I'm sad I didn't know before, but... I can't say I would have accepted you if you told me any sooner than this."

Tu Cho swallowed hard as she stopped her crying. "Thank you... both of you..."

"For what?" Suki asked.

"Helping me..." Tu Cho wiped her tears away. "...especially with," she sniffled, "Kita... de-despite all the time I h-had we weren't ready yet..."

"What else are sisters for?" Suki smiled. "You're a Kyoshi Warrior. We're there for each other."

"It takes a village to raise a child," Katara said, likely quoting sentiments she'd heard many times in her little village.

Tu Cho giggled. "Thank you." She looked at her hands covered in snot from the lack of a tissue. She laughed realizing she was actually okay. Perfectly okay. Nothing had happened. The world hadn't exploded. Nobody stormed out in anger. The three girls were actually closer than ever. "I need to wash my hands before Kita decides she's hungry again..." However she didn't stand up. She wasn't sure she could.

Suki sensed this. "She should be out for a while."

Tu Cho stared silently at her hands for a little, glad for the warmth of the two girls beside her. Finally she took a deep breath and said, "I think Kita is a fire bender." She moved the collar of her robe to the side to reveal the tiny burn. It looked like a sunburn in the shape of the baby's hand.

"But neither you nor Sokka are benders," Suki said.

"Yeah but bending has tendencies to be genetic," Katara said, "and everyone else on your side of the family is a bender right?"

"My mom wasn't either but her grandfather was. The other side is all royalty so yeah."

"So Kita had about a 50 50 chance of being a fire bender?"

"Pretty much... but this means I can't take her to the southern water tribe yet."

"What?" Katara asked. "Gran Gran would freak if she heard Sokka had a daughter who couldn't even come home to see her!"

"Yeah," Tu Cho agreed, "but she might be angrier if the baby girl sneezes and blows a hole in the wall."

"What are you going to do then?" Suki asked.

"I'll have to stay in the fire nation with my brother for a while," Tu Cho said. "Probably about three years so that Kita will know how to control her fire when we go back to the water tribe."

"True..." Katara said with a sad sigh. "Igloos wouldn't be the safest place to raise a young fire bender."

"You seem confident that we're going to win..." Suki said.

Tu Cho nodded. "I have confidence in Aang." She looked at her gross hands again. "I need a bath..."

"I'll draw you one," Katara said. "And ask Zuko to heat it so we don't have to wait for the coals to heat again."