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Katara was called many things: Doctor, teacher, friend, lover, wife... Yet, none of those compared to hearing her children call her, Mom. It didn’t matter if they were little and whining, older and still whining, older still and screaming, adults and sighing—she loved it.
She wore the moniker with a certain pride that she never felt the need to taper. The three of them had given her life, and for the longest time, she didn’t think it possible to be affected so deeply by any other title. Not until her daughter told her that she was expecting again.
As she double checked the water’s temperature and the chemical levels for the third time, just to be sure, she allowed herself to drift with the ripples almost nine months back to the cautiously optimistic conversation her little girl had brokered.
In all her years, Kya hadn’t mastered the art of subtlety. She still blurted things out and spoke her mind freely, so when Katara arrived home and saw the intern quietly waiting at the table with tea and a contemplative look; she was suddenly quite worried.
She sat down and waited for the younger woman to speak and was immediately at a loss for words when she finally did.
“Mom, you’re going to be a grandmother! I’m three months now, and—I don’t know, but I have a good feeling about it.”
She remembered pausing, her heart racing as she briefly relived the two horrific miscarriages her daughter had suffered. The older omega had shaken those memories away, the past was fixed for a reason.
They spoke at length about the differences she was experiencing, and even more about the positive feelings she’d been having so consistently now. However, when Kya swore her to secrecy, she went to bed that night with a crippling fear that the younger woman was willingly taking on something that she wasn’t sure she’d survive.
The younger omega masked the request as being in consideration of Lin. The alpha had been equally affected by the aftermath of those losses but had suppressed and compartmentalized to be the pillar of strength her grieving mate needed. While Katara didn’t agree with the decision, she grudgingly complied. Keeping Aang quiet was surprisingly easy, her husband had long ago learned not to question their middle pup’s thought processes. The beta was just happy to be able to help however possible.
The months carried on, and even though she believed herself to have sprouted a few grey hairs due to the tense anticipation, Kya successfully carried baby Beifong into the third trimester. That didn’t allow the mother much reprieve, and she continued watching her progress like a hawk.
When her daughter-in-law visited closer to month eight, they all started to relax a little. Nothing had gone wrong. No cramps, prolonged spotting, pains, spikes in vitals; absolutely nothing.
She and Aang laid in bed quietly discussing just how fortunate they all were. He had grinned broadly while detailing the various things he’d planned to do and share with their grandpup, and how much fun he was going to have spoiling them rotten. She relaxed into the dreams he painted so clearly.
“I want her to call me, ‘Papa,’ ‘Grandpa’ and any other variation will just make me feel old.”
Katara smiled as she continued to listen. He’d been insisting that they baby was girl since Kya broke the news to him. Their daughter didn’t want to know, and the older omega was left to keep that secret all by herself. Though, if it were up to the younger woman, even she wouldn’t have known. Unfortunately, the various scans and tests didn’t leave much room for that level of unawareness.
Nothing could’ve prepared any of them for what happened just a few days later, and though she didn’t exactly try to, the woman couldn’t really remember everything about the traumatic ordeal in great detail. Leaning over the shallow pool, she glanced at her reflection and dispelled the more harrowing bits that lurked in her peripheral with a swirl of her hand and allowed the others to flow naturally.
It was the beeping that alerted her first. She knew then that it had all been too good to be true. Kya’s pulse had skyrocketed when the umbilical cord slipped free of the birthing canal. That, she could manage. A cesarian section wasn’t ideal, but it would be necessary.
Her daughter, an amazing warrior of a young woman, remained as calm as possible while Katara hurriedly set about making changes to the theater. Lin, oh—spirits, she didn’t want to remember the horror on her face when a slightly blue baby with a living noose tightly constricting her airway was pulled from the muck behind the drape.
She wasn’t breathing, but the grandmother refused to believe that it was all for naught. Not after the pain, the planning, the diligence. There was no way, come hell or high water, that she’d give up. Not ever.
With unparalleled precision, she unwound the cord and started CPR. She had to do it, she had to see that baby, her baby’s baby take a breath. Just one. That’s all it’d take. That’s all she needed to witness, because Aang had never lied to her before. He promised that they’d see her grow up. That she’d inherit the world even if all he could guarantee was a globe wrapped in a bow.
So, with one truly pitiful inhale after the airway was cleared and a too small chest was compressed as quickly as safety would allow, Katara’s gloved hands trembled as she entrusted her granddaughter to her most skilled team.
The rest is a chapter in history she’d never revisit.
“It’s ready.” She announced, rising, and turning to the others in the quiet room with her. Kya beamed and, with the help of her father, stood, and made her way over. With slightly more reluctant steps, Lin followed with baby Korra swaddled safely in her arms.
She climbed the four modest steps up and began her descent. Warm water engulfed her feet and quickly overtook her legs up to her waist. The omega would go no further until her grandpup was with her.
Patiently, she waited for the younger couple to whisper their assurances and private words to the sleeping baby. It was no secret that the new sire wasn’t completely on board with putting Korra into a large (read: hot tub-sized) body of water. Lin trusted Katara with her life though, and without the older woman, neither her pup nor her mate would be here.
With one last kiss to her brow, she was handed over to Aang who swiftly unwrapped the blanket keeping Korra’s typically combative limbs in place. Surprisingly, she remained asleep even as she was carefully deposited into her grandmother’s waiting hands.
Spirits, she’s so tiny. A rather fortunate trait for Kya that she most certainly got from her sire. Katara fondly remembered having held a much pinker version of the scowling pup several years ago. The baby began to stir at the gentle caress of the water below, and while her bottom lip quivered threateningly, she settled as the woman slowly rocked her.
Little eyes darted behind closed lids and her breathing picked up for a few tense seconds, but the lulling sway and hum of the pool calmed the pup who unclenched her fists and sprawled out as she was wont to do.
The grandmother couldn’t help but smile at the heavy sigh Korra released as she rested comfortably atop her slight palms. It was uncanny really, how much she looked like both of her parents in that blissful state. The omega considered that her favorite part, so far, was the pout she often wore. That’s all Kya.
It’d wrapped any and everyone around her daughter’s fingers back then, and with a quick glance at their rapt audience, it was clear that her granddaughter had the same effect. As a mother, naturally she was affected, but as a grandmother—as a Nana, it was different somehow.
The notches in her spine, the slight wiggling of her toes, and even the twitch of her nose were altogether arresting. There appeared to be this new level of responsibility in her latest, and perhaps most treasured, title.
She wondered briefly if competing with two other women would make it harder for her to cement a bond with the littlest member of their family. Did that even matter at all? Probably not, she decided.
How could it when they got to share a moment like this together?
How could it when she was entrusted with this rite of passage as a member of their tribe?
How could it when Korra’s blue eyes fluttered open and held her gaze as though she knew and could understand her fear that readily clashed with her excitement?
It couldn’t possibly. She reaffirmed as she beamed brightly and received an answering, toothless grin in response.
“Hello there, little one.” Katara cooed. “Shall we begin, hmm?”