Azula needs to get out of bed. She is not allowed to do so and fears losing the baby if she does. If anything, this experience has shown her that she wants the baby and she always makes sure that she gets what she wants.

Still, it is torture to be unable to escape conversations with people. She does not want to see anyone. Azula hates every single person around her and involved in this drama. But, because she cannot get up, she is stuck dealing with all of them.

"So, you don't love Ty Lee," Zuko states, sitting down at the end of the bed.

Azula sighs, tired of this already. It is only a brief time after sunrise and she wants to burn the palace to the ground.

"No, I don't love her, but I don't love you either," Azula says.

"If you don't love me, why are you jealous of me and Mai?"

"Because I want you to be solely in love with me and hopelessly crushed about the fact that I don't love you back," Azula says. "Besides that, I do want you even if I don't love you and I always get what I want. And when I do have something, I do not like to share it. You should know that, being my brother."

"Are you afraid of raising a child? I am. I really want this baby and I hate to say that I want it with you, which is confusing. Neither of us had any good examples of parenting, so I doubt were actually fit to be parents together."

"We won't be parents together. You're both my brother and my father legally. That does not make up the ordinary family unit no matter how you slice it."

Zuko sits down. "I'm going to pursue a relationship with Mai. I think you should stay with Ty Lee."

"I am aware of your perceptions of what is righteous and what is honorable but—"

He kisses her on the lips. Then they both are confused. This seems to be the way it goes with them. When they break the kiss, he stares at her for a few moments.

Zuko insists vehemently, "I just think this is unhealthy, but I think we can still be parents in a… unconventional way."

"Something like that," Azula whispers back.

He leaves before he can say too much.

Azula drifts in and out of sleep. Everyone watching over her has to keep her fairly drugged to stop her from losing her mind. Losing her mind further, at least.

When she wakes up, she sees her mother.

"I think we said all that needed to be said to each other," Azula says. She wanted to sound cold, but she thinks she sounds afraid.

"I'm sorry that I pushed you so much last time we spoke," says Ursa. "It's not something you want to talk about, I'm sure. I know you legally removed the title of mother from me but you can't change the fact that I gave birth to you."

"You stopped being more of a mother than that little physical fact long before I had paperwork drafted." Azula's eyes droop, but she desperately tries to stay awake. She will not drift away from this confrontation. "You left me. And from our conversation earlier, I think you know exactly what you left me too so you cannot possibly defend yourself."

Her mother says nothing until she dismisses any talk of Ozai's transgressions and says, "I'll stay here until the baby is born. You'll need help."

"I have Zuko. I have Ty Lee. I suppose I have Mai too. I do not need you." Azula's eyelids are too heavy for her to focus on the conversation any longer.

She passes out and her mother leaves the room.

Azula sits up picking disinterestedly at the food servants brought her when her future wife walks into the room. When Azula looks up, she does not know what to make of that smile. They were in love once but Azula does not know if that held up after the betrayals. She just knows she needs to get married to make this child the heir to the throne of the Fire Nation and Ty Lee is still head over heels in love with her.

She barely wants to share this baby with Zuko. Sharing with a second mother makes something instinctual inside of her angrily growl, even if she knows the child needs two parents. Or maybe three, in this case.

"How are you doing?" Ty Lee asks gently and sweetly, giving Azula a quick kiss on the lips.

That does feel good. Azula tries to compare it in her head to the kiss she shared with Zuko two days ago but cannot do it. She thinks it might be impossible.

"Terribly. This baby needs to come out of me," Azula says, touching her stomach. She casts aside her food and grabs Ty Lee's shoulder to help herself sit up higher. "Maybe we should just get a knife and slice it out. It is not as premature now."

"You can wait," Ty Lee says, smiling. "It'll work out really well. I promise."

"I do not think you can promise that so easily," Azula says, trying to stretch. She could not be more uncomfortable.

"We'll wait and we'll have this baby and we'll get married and it'll all be great," Ty Lee says, touching Azula's hand. "Then we'll raise the future Fire Lord just like I always dreamed I would."

"I dreamed I would be the future Fire Lord," says Azula, sighing and lying down. Her head spins and she feels nauseated. Why did she try to sit up?

"That would've been nice," Ty Lee says.

"You are the reason it did not happen," Azula says bitterly and harshly. She cannot stop herself from glaring. Ty Lee looks hurt, but she should be. "If you hadn't have broken…"

Azula cannot continue. She will not admit that she has a heart, much less that it could be broken by anyone.

"I'll stay with you," Ty Lee says. Azula likes that idea.

She closes her eyes. It feels safer than being alone or with her mother.

Does she love her?

Does she love her?

Does she love her?

Azula is using Ty Lee. Azula is using Zuko.

She does not love either of them, right?

Two weeks later, four people are in the room for the birth of Izumi: Ty Lee, Zuko, Katara and Ursa. Azula wants absolutely none of them here with her, but she is in no state to argue. She holds back reactions to the pain for a prolonged amount of time, but ceases being able to after a while.

"This is entirely your fault! You did this!" Azula snarls at her brother. He stops trying to hold her hand when she claws him with her sharp nails.

People helping with the birth would not understand that. Ty Lee would not. Ursa would, but Azula does not care. Right now, she could not care less who knows about her affair with her brother.

"I'm not sorry," says Zuko. Azula would scoff if she were not sweating and in agonizing pain.

Ty Lee still thinks Azula looks very pretty, even right now. She would be proud to admit that.

Zuko is closer to her and finds her beautiful even when she is a mess. He would not be proud to admit that.

Azula is none the wiser about the two people who desperately want her.

After three hours of labor, the baby rests on Azula's chest. Night has fallen outside but none of the four unwelcome guests have abandoned Azula or Izumi. The baby girl looks right at her with wide golden eyes that glitter in the moonlight.

No one has ever gazed at her with such need and love and every other emotion that makes her heart swell.

She cannot hold back her small smile.

Zuko reaches to hold the baby. Ty Lee does too.

Azula glances between them. The real father of the baby or the soon-to-be second mother of the baby? Who is the right choice?

"I need more time with Izumi. I did all of the work," Azula snaps, buying herself time.

Zuko stares at the infant for a couple of minutes and leaves the room. Ty Lee lies down on the bed beside Azula, on top of the covers. She closes her eyes and listens to the sound of her breathing.

Azula hears nothing but the heartbeats of Izumi and Ty Lee until she overhears Zuko talking to Mai outside.

The acidic jealousy burns ferociously in her chest.