Chapter 1.
"Mommy! Mommy look! Look at what I..." Ikki stopped short. She gazed around her parents' bedroom, not seeing her mother. She was so excited to show her the baby salamander she had just found. Disappointed, she neared the edge of the bed, just to be sure. "Mommy?"
Tenzin sat at his desk, sorting through his papers, looking for the agenda for tonight's council meeting. He could have sworn he put it somewhere…
"Daddy! Daddy!" Ikki came running into the room. Her eyes were wide and she was shaking from head to toe. Firmly grasped between her hands was a small orange salamander.
Tenzin sighed. "Ikki, for the hundredth time, please do not bring animals into the house. I am sure that salamander doesn't appreciate being…"
"It's Mommy." Ikki breathed out.
Tenzin and Ikki rushed into the bedroom. Ikki pointed wordlessly to the edge of the bed. Tenzin slowly approached, each step caused ice cold fear to run through his veins. When the other side of the bed was visible, his heart sank. Pema lay on the floor, pale and motionless. Tenzin fell to his knees as the world seemed to slow around him. Jinora and Meelo came running in, Meelo chasing his older sister with a worm on a stick. But when the two saw the scene unfolding in front of them, their smiles faded.
The doctor diagnosed Pema with a complex strain of the Influenza virus. When asked if she would be ok, he replied with a quiet, "I don't know." He left the room, leaving the family of airbenders alone with a semi-conscious Pema. Meelo sat in a corner, hugging his knees and rocking slowly back and forth. Jinora tried to console a sobbing Ikki, while attempting to hide her own sadness. Tenzin sat at the bedside, holding his wife's lifeless hand.
"I came as soon as I heard," Lin Beifong gasped as she rushed into the room. She looked over to Pema, who remained still underneath the bed sheets. "Oh no," she breathed out. Her gaze drifted to Tenzin, who was on the brink of tears. Comforting people didn't exactly fall into her list of specialties. Nevertheless, she pulled up a chair next to Tenzin and placed a light hand on his shoulder.
"Tenzin…" The word was so soft that it was almost inaudible, almost. Tenzin immediately snapped his head up to look at his wife, whose eyes began to open. Tenzin let out a combination of a laugh and a sob, and gripped Pema's hand tighter, if that was even possible. Pema reached up to wipe a tear from his face as she looked over to her children.
"Mommy!" the young airbenders gasped in unison. They ran to her bedside with tears streaming down their faces.
"Shhh, shhh it's ok." Pema soothed. "It'll be ok. Be good to Daddy for me."
"Mommy? Mommy, please don't go," Jinora begged as more tears spilled over her cheeks.
"I'll never leave you sweetheart," Pema replied softly as she stroked Jinora's hair. "I promise." She looked to all of her children. "I love you so much."
"Pema, please…" Tenzin pleaded. Tears pooled in his eyes and threatened to spill over.
"I love you Tenzin, more than words can describe," she gingerly placed a small hand on his cheek. He leaned into it and closed his eyes. He couldn't hold his tears in any longer. He allowed them to stream down his face and land in drops on the sheets. "And remember," she briefly looked over to Lin, who still had her hand on Tenzin's shoulder, "when one door closes..."