These Final Moments

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Katara woke with a gasp, beads of sweat forming in small droplets on her brow. She wiped her forehead and sat up as fast as her frail body would let her. This wasn't the first night she woke from this same nightmare. It often came to her when she thought too hard about him.

"It was just a nightmare," she muttered to herself, her old eyes adjusting to the light. But it's not. He is really gone.

She sighed and pulled back her blanket, slowly sliding her feet onto the floor and into her slippers. A walk would be good for her. She needed some time to think.

The nightmare was always the same. She would start off in Republic City at the healing center where she worked. She was always working on the same person: a man whose chest had been severely burned when a flaming board fell on him in a house fire near the Dragon Flats Burroughs. She remembered it perfectly. The man was drifting in and out of consciousness and his odds were not pretty good. She healed him with all her might, but his heart stopped. She stumbled backwards in stress and frustration. She was sixty-eight years old; this was beginning to be too stressful for her. The firebender on duty jumped in and tried to shock the man's heart back to life. She couldn't remember whether the man lived or died; the dream always got hazy at that point.

She sat in a chair against the wall of the room, her head in her hands as she tried to calm herself. Healing the man had taken a lot out of her. She noticed in the corner of her eye, a frantic-looking young woman who had just ran into the shop. She stood up and walked towards the woman, trying to find out what was wrong.

"What's wrong, miss?" Katara asked, placing her hand on the woman's shoulder, "Are you hurt?"

Dismissing her question, the woman look towards Katara with recognition in her eyes, "You're Katara, aren't you?"

Confused, she replied, "Yes, that's me, but what is wrong?"

"It's your husband! Avatar Aang! He was walking from the City Hall and he just collapsed!" The woman cried, grabbing hold of Katara's hand, "You have to help him!"

"Wh-what? Aang?" Katara asked, suddenly worried out of her mind. Surely he was fine, this woman was confused with someone else. She looked around the room. A fellow healer had heard what the woman had said.

"Go," She said softly, "We can handle things here."

Katara nodded, fear still in her eyes. She followed the woman outside the shop and asked, "Where is he at now?"

The woman never stopped moving, "They're bringing him to Air Temple Island. He requested to be brought there, and then he asked for you."

"Alright," Katara panted. She and the woman were jogging quickly through the crowds of people and she was already exhausted from work.

The dream flashed to Air Temple Island, where she sat by her husband in his bed. He had suffered from a heart attack, and it caused him to collapse. He seemed to have recovered a bit, but he was still in pain. Katara sat at the side of their bed where he lay and held his hand. He began to speak to her, but lately she had not been able to understand him. She knew his last words to her. She knew them by heart. But she wanted to forget that day completely.

Unfortunately, her dreams prevented that.

The nightmare would always end with him dying in her arms.

Before she knew it, she had made it to the porch of her son's home. She was staying with Tenzin and his family so that she could watch Korra take her airbending test. She knew that Korra would pass. She worked so hard, and she deserved it.

She loved Korra with all her heart, but she served as a constant reminder that Aang was gone, and he wasn't coming back. It never ceased to break her heart.

She could remember when this used to be her and Aang's home. This was the place they had their wedding. This was the place they started a family. This was the place they raised their children and grew old together. She moved away after he died because the memories were too hard for her to handle.

She walked down to the beach and sat down on a large rock that jutted over the ocean. Waves splashed against the rock and sprayed her with a salty mist. She noticed that it was a full moon, no wonder she was having trouble sleeping. Waterbenders always get antsy during them.

Minutes past before anyone came up to her. She hardly noticed her son walk up to her because of his light, airbender tread. He wore the same robes that Aang wore. To honor him, perhaps. Or maybe just to remember him.

"Mother," he spoke softly, "What are you doing out here so late? You'll catch a cold."

"I'm fine. I may be old, but I'm still as strong as I was in my youth," She smiled and looked towards him.

Tenzin gave a soft chuckle, "Okay, Mother."

He slid next to her on the rock and asked her again, "But what are you doing here? Are you having trouble sleeping?"

Katara sighed, "It's nothing. I'm just fine."

Tenzin looked at her with a concerned expression, "Are you sure?"

Defeated, Katara knew she would have to tell him. He was just like his father in that he would continue to prod her with questions until she talked. "No… I keep having a nightmare about him." She looked up at the statue of her beloved husband in the center of Yue Bay.

Tenzin's brow furrowed, "I see…"

"I miss him so much."

"I know. I do too…"

"For whatever reason, my mind is trying to remind me of his death." Katara sighed, "Even so, it gives me a chance to see him again, even though he is on his deathbed."

Tenzin placed his arm around her frail shoulders and pulled her close to him, "I'm sorry, Mother."

"It's alright," Katara muttered, but then she gave a hesitant chuckle, "I'm not going to be around for much longer. Then, I will see him again."

Tenzin pulled back, "But you're not sick, you still have life in you."

Katara smiled sadly, "I told Korra I would be here for her final training at the Avatar, so I will. Her airbending test is one week from today, is it not? But I can assure you; my body is getting weaker by the day. I can hold on, but I'm not sure I'm willing to any longer. The ache in my heart is too hard to bear and I am ready to go…"

"No, Mother. I want Rohan to have you as a grandmother. Don't you want to see him grow up? What if he's an airbender?" Tenzin pleaded.

"I want to see that. I want to see him grow up and be strong, but I may just have to do that from the spirit world…"

"Please just stay a little while longer, Mother."

Katara nodded. She would hold on just long enough to keep her promise to Korra. She didn't want to die, but it was beginning to be too hard to live. Moments later, she spoke again, "They say that before you die, your life will flash before your eyes…. I look forward to that. I want to see what I have accomplished."

Tenzin looked at her once more with sympathetic eyes. He hugged her, "You have accomplished many things, Mother. I can assure you that." With that, he stood up, bid her a good night, and left.

Katara smiled sadly towards Aang's statue. I'll just have to see.

She slid down from the rock and landed on the soft sand of the beach. She slipped her feet from her slippers and walked towards the gentle waves as they glided across the sand. The water slipped between her toes and she smiled, a few tears escaping from her eyes.

A little while later, she returned to her bed, sleeping without any disturbance.

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A/N –

This will be a multi-chaptered story.

I hope you all enjoyed it, even though it's only just a prologue now. Basically, this story will consist of eight chapters. One for each day until Katara's death. Gee dangit, spoiler. No, its in the summary.

Katara will reflect on certain important parts of her life. Her life will literally be flashing before her eyes as she waits for death. Then, she can finally be with Aang…

Please review! I appreciate every one! …Unless you're flaming on me.