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Katara awoke with a start, a singular thought in her mind.
In the dark, she felt around the bed until she found Aang's arm and shook it gently. "Aang? Aang, wake up."
A notoriously light sleeper, Aang roused immediately. He opened his eyes and sat up a little. He reached over and placed his hand on her slightly swollen belly. "What's wrong, sweetie? Are you okay?"
Katara was four months along and just starting to show, a thrilling milestone and a visible indication that they would soon become parents.
"I'm fine, I just really need something. Can you get it for me? Please?"
Aang smiled and kissed her face. "Anything. What is it?"
"Papaya."
Aang blinked, sure that he had misheard her. "What?"
Up until now, Katara's food cravings had been fairly standard. It was mainly her favorite fruits simply cut up in a bowl, or traditional dishes from the Southern Water Tribe -- especially seaweed noodles and stewed sea prunes. Of course, Aang was more than happy to oblige any request, but he was mystified by this one in particular.
"Papaya," she said again. "Please?"
"But... you hate papayas," he said, remembering her dejection when Aunt Wu had told her to eat one for breakfast so many years ago.
She tugged his hand, her eyes getting watery. "Aang, please. I really need one. I can't sleep until I have it."
Aang nodded. “Of course, sweetie. Don’t worry. I’ll run out right now and get some.”
He kissed her again before getting out of bed and dressing quickly.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said, picking up his glider.
"Thank you," she called softly as he left the room, to which he blew her another kiss.
Chewing his lip, Aang set off toward the city. It was past midnight already and he wasn’t sure where he would find a vendor at this hour. It didn’t matter, though — he had to do everything in his power to get what Katara needed.
By a stroke of luck, Aang discovered an all-night produce shop tucked away in an alley and returned home in under an hour with three ripe papayas for his beloved.
Setting two aside, Aang scooped out the seeds and sliced up the fruit in thick wedges before returning to their room, relieved that he had succeeded in his mission.
Katara was sitting up in bed, an open book in her lap. Her face lit up when she saw Aang, but the moment he placed the tray next to her bedside, a pained grimace replaced her smile and she clapped her hand over her mouth.
“Excuse me.”
Throwing back the covers, Katara scrambled out of bed and rushed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
Then came the retching and coughing, and Aang glared at the offending papaya.
After taking the dish far away, Aang stood in front of the bathroom and rapped on the door with his fingertips. "Sweetie, can I come in?"
He waited, and a few moments later, received a muffled groan in response that sounded vaguely like a "yes.”
Turning the doorknob, he went in and found Katara seated on the edge of the tub, her face hidden in her hands. She was sniffling.
In an instant, Aang was on alert. He crouched down to her level and rubbed her arm.
”Katara, are you okay? Do you still feel sick? What can I do?”
“I’m awful,” she whispered, tears spilling through her fingers.
“What?” he said, taken aback. “No, you’re not. Why would you think that?”
“Because,” she started, dropping her hands to look at him. Her mouth trembled. “I made you get up in the middle of the night to get me papaya, and now I can’t even stand the sight of it. You’re so wonderful, and I’m terrible.”
Aang squeezed her hand and pulled her into his arms for a hug.
"Sweetie," he said softly into her ear. “That’s nothing. You're pregnant. Your body is going through all of these unbelievable changes. You can't help how you react to certain foods. Please don’t cry, and please don’t feel bad for a single second. I will go anywhere for you to get whatever you need, anytime. Even papaya.”
Katara gagged, and Aang winced. “Sorry.”
Pulling away from him, Katara dried her eyes with her sleeve and smiled.
“There is something else I was thinking of that I could have instead of… that.”
She made a face, and Aang chuckled. “What is it?”
“That tea from the Jasmine Dragon — the one Iroh named after us. It’s oolong.”
“Oh, right. The Bender tea.”
Aang stood and helped Katara to her feet, wondering how he was going to wake Appa for the journey.
“The only thing is, Ba Sing Se is a couple hundred miles to the east,” he said. “Will you be okay having it for breakfast? I should be back by then.”
Katara gave him a puzzled look. “You don’t have to go all the way to the capital, Aang. Don’t you remember? Iroh gave us a tin with the blend on our last visit. We just have to steep the leaves.”
Aang let out a small gasp as the memory of Iroh handing him a wooden chest full of the tea shop’s most popular blends came back to him.
“I forgot! That’s perfect, then. Listen, you get comfortable in bed and I’ll bring the tea as soon as it’s ready.”
”Thank you, sweetie. And I really appreciate you willing to make the trip to Ba Sing Se. But, you know I would never ask you to go someplace that far, especially this late.”
“I know. But you know that I would go to the ends of the four nations for you if you asked.”
Katara put a hand over his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart.
“I know.”