A/N: Sorry, this oneshot took forever to upload, but i kept putting it off and had finished typing it up this evening, but Microsoft word decided to stupid and delete my changes, made me mad, good thing i was able to save them, lucky i was able to recover a back up that Microsoft had saved anyways i hope you enjoy this oneshot, i was going to add Sokka and Toph point of views but it would of been too long and i just cant write their characters. anyway i hope you enjoy this oneshot, my longest one ever, and sorry for the end if it seams a bit rushed, i hope to improve in the future. Enjoy takes place after the crossroads of destiny but before the lost adventure comic"The Bridge".

It has been at least three days since the fall of Ba Sing Se, since the fall of the earth kingdom as a whole. Nevertheless, the avatar has fallen to the hands of Princess Azula and Prince Zuko who happens to have betrayed her down in the catacombs in Ba Sing Se.

'I can't believe that I trusted him, I almost believed his story, that he was an actual human being, look at what happened to me trusting him, the avatar, my best friend, my love, my Aang is hurt. He lies here in bed, on the brink of life, between life and death, I will never know if he will wake up or not, only at this point time will tell.'

As she was lost in her thoughts, she had heard Aang moan in pain in the background and quickly turned around, only to see him peacefully sleeping. She looked at the airbender with worried eyes, seeing his chest slowly but shallowly rise and fall with every breath he took in and out.

She had to agree that he did look somewhat better than a few days ago, but sadly, he still looked pale and his breathing is still shallow and Katara would wound up having to check and heal Aang's wounds every so often, even every hour.

She had to make sure that he was fed, his bandages were changed as needed, he was not in any pain or discomfort, and make sure he was not getting sick or an infection from his wounds. But most of all, make sure he is healing and not getting worse.

It wears her out, but she refuses to leave Aang's side no matter what. It even got to the point where she had stayed up one night to watch and tend to Aang, until the next day when her brother Sokka would go check up on her, only to find her to be sleepy that her eyes would droop, and would have trouble standing up and would be cranky, but despite the pleas from Sokka to get some rest, she would still refuse, insisting that she has to stay with Aang, and that he needs her. Knowing his sister and how stubborn she can be, he decided that he would check up on her later.

Toph went to check on her a few hours later, but pretty much the same result, Katara had refused to leave Aang's side, while she did manage to convince her to get something to eat, Katara did not stay out long and had refused to get some rest despite Toph's pleas and demands, after several minutes, Toph left the scene and left Katara to be.

Hours had passed since then, for the rest of the day, she was with Aang pretty much the rest of the day, refusing to leave the room, only leaving when she needed more healing supplies or for bathroom breaks. The rest of the day was spent healing, watching, and crying over Aang and pleading for him to wake up, despite her pleas, Aang did not move a muscle due to his current weakened state.

When night fell on that day, Katara was finishing up yet another healing session for the airbender when she noticed she was having trouble staying awake.

'How long was I up, was I really up all night long?' She wondered, the past couple of days have been a blur to her that she was not aware that she had been up for more than twenty-four hours. She knew that she more than likely won't be able to stay up for another night and that she had done all she could for Aang for the night.

The other side of her had refused to let her sleep, it insisted that she needed to be there for him. Too exhausted to even fight her mind, she had decided to let the darkness of sleep overtake her, however, not before pleading "Aang, please wake up soon, I really need you, I love you." Finally before falling into complete exhaustion letting a light but somewhat restful sleep overtake her. But it did not go without memories first.

As Katara was sleeping, memories with her and Aang both good and bad came rushing back to her, the adventures she had with him, the trials that they faced both big and small, and finally the small moments she had with Aang when no one was looking. Nevertheless, she will never forget the time she spent with Aang, even though he had a huge battle in front of him, somehow, she managed to always be by his side when he needed her the most. While some of the memories rushed in a blur, she remembers the times she was with Aang that she will never forget.

The first and most memories that she can recall was the day she had broken Aang out of the iceberg, when Katara and Sokka had their sibling bickering as normal, little did she know that she was going to not only meet someone new, but that someone would be the avatar who was gone for over a century while the fire nation waged war on the rest of the remaining nations.

Not only the avatar, but a new best friend who she would grow to be seen as family to her and eventually fall in love with him. She remembers the time when she took her brothers club and hit the ice multiple times before a gust of wind broke out, breaking the iceberg in half.

Next thing she knew, she saw Aang's glow disappear and tumble down the ice, catching him before he hit his head. Next thing she knew, she turned him around before he moaned and opened his eyes for the first time in over a century.

Next thing she knew, she was staring into his stormy gray eyes for what seemed like an eternity before he finally said," Please, I need to ask you something." Hearing his plea, she responded, "what?"

"Please, come closer."

She inched closer to him as he asked her to, but what he asked her of really caught her off guard when he asked" will you go penguin sledding with me?"

Caught off guard by that she responded" uh, sure, I guess."

While that may have been a small moment for Katara, it was one of the best memories she had of him, the day when it all started, while she would often take this moment for granted, never would she forget the time when Aang opened his eyes for the first time and stare at her in awe of her beauty.

This would be the time that would change her life forever, and her outlook of the war in general, for the first time, she had hope of the war ending for good.

The next memory that was as clear as a bell was the time that Aang found out that the last of his people, and his mentor, teacher, father figure was gone. When he had found the skeleton with a necklace that Aang had given as Monk Gyatso.

Next thing she knew was that suddenly, the avatar statues eyes had in the blink of an eye an turned an incandescent bluish white, immediately suspecting that Aang had triggered the avatar state somehow, or the 'avatar spirit' as she had called it.

Next thing she knew, she saw an air bubble with high winds at incredible speeds, but she knew that deep down that behind all that angry power was a very saddened and lost boy who did not expect his people to vanish in a time of war.

She remembered when she assured him that he was not alone in this, that she went through the same thing when her mom died. She also remembered the promise she had made to Aang.

"Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family, Sokka and I, where your family now."

She somehow got through to him as the winds calmed down and Aang had slowly but carefully descended to the ground, next thing she knew was she had hugged him for what seemed like forever to let him know that she would always be there for him as needed, no words were needed.

From that day forth, she had promised to always be there for Aang when he needed a shoulder to cry on, and there for him always she was.

This recent memory was the one she would never forget, it was when Aang had lashed out at the sandbenders, the ones responsible for stealing Appa away from him. She recalled how infuriated he was at the sandbenders so hard to the point of entering the avatar state out of anger, outrage, sadness and many more emotions that she could not pin out.

As he rose higher into the sky, the sandbenders and the rest of the gang had retreated to farther away out of fear of the avatar's power.

But she knew better, behind the binds of the avatar state was pain, sorrow, loss, anger, and hurt all mixed into one, she knew that she could not let him sink deeper and do something that he may regret later on.

With determination, she walked into the high winds with sand hitting her along the way until she got to Aang, she remembered reaching out for his hand and in turn faced her back with a face full of anger yet pain, unfazed by his look, she proceeded to grab his other hand and pulled him down gently then hugging him with all of her might as tears came to her face, never letting go of him.

Minute by minute as the winds started calming down, the sound of roaring winds was replaced by the sound of soft sobs coming from the airbender, as he got heavy, they both sank down into the sand with tears of her own.

No words were needed to be said at the moment.

After several moments, the airbenders sobs subsided and had fallen asleep in Katara's arms. While relived that he was calm, she had also known why he had fallen asleep. From there, she knew that no matter what, she would be there for Aang as she knew that Aang had a tough road ahead of him to face.

She could not blame him though, after getting not only his friend, but his only link to his culture stolen away from him. But regardless of the issue, she had vowed to always stay with him at times like this when he needed it most, throughout this trial he faced, she would be with him for every moment of it.

They would go through this together as a team, as friends, and as a family all the way through, she would be there for him.

The next memory was not that hard to forget, it was when the gang had gotten out of the Si Wong Desert and was on their way to cross the Serpents pass along with a couple when they could not get tickets for the ferry to Ba Sing Se.

It was after the group had decided to rest for the night that Aang distanced himself from the others, worried, she had decided to go after Aang. Moments later, she found Aang standing on the edge of a cliff on the pass. When she approached Aang, he did not appear to acknowledge her presence, only looking towards the horizon blankly, but regardless, she tells him," You know, its okay to miss Appa." She reminds him.

"In the desert, all you cared about was finding Appa, now it's like you don't care about him at all."

"You saw what I did out there, I was so angry about losing Appa that I couldn't control myself, I hated feeling like that." He responded.

She knew that Aang was not letting himself feel or care about Appa. She knew he hated feeling that way but said, "But now, you're not letting yourself feel anything. I know sometimes, it hurts more to hope and it hurts more to care."

She asked him, "But you have to promise me that you won't stop caring." She held out her arms offering him a hug, "Come on, you need a hug." But Aang refused to accept the hug and instead bowed to her in response, "Thank you for your concern Katara." And walking out of her sight back to camp leaving her disappointed that she could not comfort him like she normally did.

While she understood his pain, she could not bear to see Aang bottling up his emotions about Appa. Deep down, she knew that he had missed Appa dearly, but seeing Aang so distant had torn her heart in two, but regardless, she would always help Aang at times like this when he needed it.

The next day was the day she knew that Aang would get his hope back, it was shortly after she had delivered the couple's baby. While Aang was sitting outside waiting for the baby to be born, Katara had walked out of the tent and said, "Aang, you have to come see this.

Next thing she knew, when Aang had walked into the tent, she would see the hope in his eyes as tears were streaming down his cheeks before wiping them away with his arm. "I've been going through a really hard time lately, but, you've made me hopeful again." He stated softly

From that point on, they would find a way to bring Appa home, because as long as he had hope, they could accomplish anything like they had done in the past.

Next thing she knew, after some encouragement from the rest of the gang, Aang took off on his glider with renewed determination to search for Appa, Katara had watched as Aang was flying off the far walls of Ba Sing Se in search for Appa.

She will never forget how Aang went from downcast about losing Appa to hopeful and determined to find him. But most of all, she will never forget about the time how Aang had told her that seeing that family come together, full of happiness reminded him of how he felt about Appa, but most of all, how he felt about her.

The team was whole again, but best of all, their family was whole again.

This last memory of her and Aang was one that she rather not relive, it was that fateful night that had changed her forever, it was the night that Aang was shot down in the avatar state, almost dying.

While most of the memory was all a blur to her, it was the end of the battle that terrified her the most. She remembered using the octopus form to defend herself from the amount of Dai Li agents surrounding her, next thing she knew was she saw a flash of light and the form of the avatar, Aang, rising up into the avatar state, ready to defeat the Dai Li, Azula and Zuko.

She remembered her and the others awe at the avatar's power, they were going to get out of this in victory, but sadly, that awe soon turned into horror as she saw Princess Azula shoot deadly lightning at Aang, his body jolting from both intense pain and the energy of the lightning, with a content smirk on her face, next thing she knew, she saw him falling, falling, falling, she had to catch him, she could not loose Aang, she couldn't.

She made a powerful wave out of the water she used to defend herself to catch Aang, she did not care who she knocked over along the way, she had to get to him.

Next thing she knew, she found herself cradling Aang's body, not aware of what's going on all around her, suddenly, When Azula and Zuko were going to attack, General Iroh got in front of them and shot blasts of his own defending her and Aang, allowing her to escape with Aang to safety above. Whether Iroh was an enemy or ally, she could not tell, all she knew was that he saved her and Aang.

Next thing she knew, desperate to find a way to bring back Aang, she removed the vile of spirit oasis water around her neck and bended its contents out where it started to glow an incandescent blue, she had leaned Aang against her, revealing his newly burnt back and placed the water inside of the wound disappearing inside, at first it looked like he was long gone, then she saw a bright white glow and a soft groan emit from him.

She pulled him back to see him smiling at her in gratitude, she remembers embracing him with relief of him of being alive, before shortly slipping into a coma due to his injuries. Sometime later, she had heard the earth king announce in defeat, "The earth kingdom has fallen."

While she knew that he would not be alone in this, until the hour he wakes up, she would be with him every step of the way, she would be the one who would heal him back to life.

Despite all of the things she had gone through with Aang so far, she knew that they had a long ways to go to ending this war. But until that happens, her main focus right now was to make sure that Aang is healed in time for the invasion.

Despite her struggle in healing Aang, she never gave up and had never left his side. She would often cry out in her sleep for Aang, and even saying, "I love you Aang, please wake up." Little did she know that in the coming weeks, Aang would soon wake up and return to both her and the world.

In the coming weeks, the avatar would soon awaken, and return to the world.