Appa grunted with an exasperated sigh as he touched down to the Western Air Temple. Too tired to make it to his stables, he slumped down and began snoring almost immediately. Aang could hardly blame him, and as he dismounted, he felt his limbs sagging and aching with soreness. He had been flying for almost three days straight, meeting with King Kuei and the Council of Five in Ba Sing Se, searching for a party of rebel earthbenders in the Middle Kingdoms, and visiting Sokka and Suki quickly to congratulate them on their new daughter. "Avatar stuff..." he thought drowsily. The sleepless nights and constant movement had left him exhausted and worn out.

"Nite-" he yawned loudly, "Nite Appa."

He shuffled through the ancient hallways of the air temple, wavering slightly from side to side. After tumbling and almost losing consciousness a few times, he finally made it to his bed. He proceeded to fall onto the soft sheets unceremoniously, his eyes no longer willing to stay open. His fatigue caused him to hardly notice Momo climbing onto his shoulder as he let sleep overtake him.

His dreams were sporadic and barely made sense. They roamed from Momo talking to an animated peach about how delicious he looked, to flying on Appa with all of his old friends. As soon as he was beginning to become caught up in the feeling of being with his old friends like it had been in the past, he found himself awake.

He kept his eyes closed, the feeling of sunlight wafting through his open window. Not a single sound penetrated the tranquil stillness of the morning, and he refused to get up and ruin the moment. Traveling around the world was almost worth it if it meant returning to the peace he found at the air temples. He could have lain there all day, but he bolted upright at the sound of a pan clanking against stone. He felt his stomach grumble furiously, realizing that he hadn't eaten since early the previous day, but he was careful to assess the situation first. After mentally confirming that no one should have been in the Western Air Temple at that time, he stalked out of his room, hands held forward in the event of a confrontation. Although there were rebellions and skirmishes throughout the postwar world, Aang had never had a problem with intruders in the temples, "other than that time Chang and Lily showed up with their nomad friends" he thought with an amused smile. Still, the idea of intruders in such a sacred area disturbed him greatly.

After assuring himself that the sounds were coming from a nearby kitchen, he gathered his breath and closed the distance to the door. As he jumped into the doorway, ready to strike, he found himself falling backwards in shock at the sight of Katara. With a loud yelp, he tumbled backwards and fell with a sickening thud. He heard giggles as Katara walked over to him.

"Always knew how to make an entrance, didn't you?" She was smiling at him, clearly on the verge of laughing outright. Her vibrant, deep blue eyes gazed at him. He had almost forgotten how beautiful her eyes were.

Aang felt a mix of emotions. Surprise, joy and confusion all passed through his head, but with a quick look at the situation, he found himself laughing. The two of them laughed for several minutes before finally calming down. Aang gracefully bended himself off of the floor with a gust of wind. "It's so great to see you Katara!" he exclaimed, embracing her tightly. He hadn't seen Katara in six years, and in that time she had grown into a beautiful young woman. Her figure had matured considerably, her curves more developed and her breast size clearly expanded. He shook off the thoughts.

"You too! What, did you grow a foot since I saw you last? And have you been working out?" She teased him, sizing him up. He simply chuckled. Although the situation felt sufficiently awkward for both of them, neither would admit to it, both of them so caught up in the moment of seeing the other after such a long time.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked, letting his confusion play out in his voice.

Katara looked at him sadly, disappointment that he was so quick to question her reasons for having visited, and not happier to simply see her. She shrugged off the feeling, smiling again. "What, a girl can't visit her old friend?"

Aang gazed at her knowingly, aware that she was avoiding the question.

She looked down slightly, feeling uncomfortable that she couldn't open up to Aang. It was a problem she had never had before. "I... I just needed a vacation." She lied weakly. Aang walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "Katara, what's wrong? Why isn't Zuko with you?" He was beginning to guess at what had happened.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said in barely more than a whisper. Aang was surprised that Katara, of all people, didn't want to talk about her feelings, but didn't feel right pressing the subject.

"It's alright, don't worry about it, okay?" She looked up at him and nibbled her lower lip uncomfortably. He smiled softly, and she found herself, slightly to her surprise, returning it. "So you were making breakfast?" he asked her, trying to change the subject as his hunger played up again.

"Mhm," she moved back over to the fire pit where she had been cooking bacon and eggs. She slid the food onto a plate and handed it to Aang with a broad smile. Aang stared blankly at the carnivorous meal, then back up at her radiant expectant face, and then back to the meal again. Her smile began vanishing. "Do you want it?" She had never thought of herself as a bad cook.

"It's... it's a little, um, meaty."

She nearly slapped herself for having forgotten that Aang was a vegetarian. "I'm so sorry Aang, I didn't mean to... agh! I'm really so sorry!" She began to scoop the meal out the window.

"Katara, it's okay. It's been almost six years, I probably wouldn't remember either," he told her with a smile. "If I was a meat eater, I would have wolfed that delicious looking meal down," he added, trying to cheer her up. It worked. "Here, I've got some fruit in the cupboard."

Just as he began pulling melons and berries out, he felt something fly into his arm, causing him to jump back in surprise. In alarm, he looked around to find Momo on the counter, furiously grabbing fruits and shoving them into his mouth.

"Well, we had a breakfast." He and Katara both broke out in fits of laughter.

What had been a planned visit for several days had turned into several weeks as Katara found herself unable to leave the peaceful life that existed in the air temple. She couldn't stand the thought of leaving such a calm and relaxed place.

She cleaned the many dusty and dirty areas of the temple and cooked meals for the two of them, but Aang always insisted to aid in the process of both. Most of the time, she found herself gazing out at the beautiful cliff side that surrounded them, or touring the aged halls and gorgeous facades of the ancient temple. Sometimes she simply lay on the ground, near a fountain, the sound of trickling water complimenting the stillness that existed throughout.

It was several weeks after she had first arrived that she walked out on the balcony that Aang meditated on every day.

"Aang?" she breathed quietly.

"Yes Katara?" he responded calmly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to disturb you," she began to turn away, feeling stupid for having distracted him in the first place when she had no intention of talking. She was about to walk away when she felt a hand grasp her own. The grip was loose and relaxed, but it served to hold her still, and she found herself unable to move. Before he could speak, she turned to face his imploring gray eyes, and without any care of stopping herself, she began frantically spilling out her feelings.

"I'm so sorry I just showed up one day. I know I've stayed longer than I should have, but I'm just so confused! I mean, I love Zuko, but I don't think he wants to see me right now. I didn't want to do it, I didn't have any control over it, it just happened! I mean, I wanted a child as much as, no, probably more than he did. I mean, I'd love to have a young baby, but it just couldn't happen. And now I feel horrible because I've ruined his life, and I've ruined any chance of the royal line continuing. I probably ruined the royal line simply by marrying him, but what could I do, I loved him and he loved me and-"

Aang held a finger to her lips, and he felt her hot tears graze his touch. Not only could he barely follow what she was saying, but he couldn't stand listening to her beat herself up. "Katara, just tell me what's wrong. What happened with you and Zuko?"

She gulped and sniffled, and she knelt down, tears streaking her soft cheeks. "I met with the court physicians in the Fire Nation, because I was wondering if I should begin expecting a child. They told me... they told me that there was no chance... no chance for a child." She stopped, her sobs filling resounding off the stone walls.

"I'm so sorry Katara..."

"What would you care?!" she snapped suddenly, surprising both of them. She wanted to stop herself, but she couldn't stand holding her emotions in. "You didn't even come to the wedding! You've made an effort to visit everyone else! Sokka, Suki, Toph, all of them! You even visit Zuko for to catch up! But you're gone before I even hear that you've arrived! Why weren't you at the wedding Aang? And don't say you had business!! Kuei, Bumi, Anouk, the kings and generals of the Earth Kingdom, they were all there! Why didn't you come? Of everyone, you were the one person I'd hoped would be there, and you were the one person that disappointed me!" Aang was taken aback by her sudden and furious outburst.

"Katara, you know why I wasn't there. It would have been too hard for me. If it means anything, I was happy for you." She looked down again, continuing to sob.

Aang looked at her weeping form, and without a second thought, bent down and grabbed her in a tight hug. After several seconds of registering the action, she wrapped her arms around Aang, putting her face in his shoulder and crying harder than ever. They knelt there for what seemed like an eternity, their arms locked around the other. Katara's sobs were stifled in Aang's robes, and Aang tried to think of something to say. "You know he loves you Katara. You do know that, right?" He heard a muffled and indecisive "umph".

"Katara, I think you may have simply overreacted to the situation. He must be stressed with work and everything that's been going on lately. I mean, rebellions, civil unrest, disagreements with the Earth Kingdom. The news simply caught him at a bad time, and he didn't fully think through his actions and words."

Another "umph".

He lifted her head up and looked at her face-to-face, his gray eyes gazing deeply into her own blue ones. "Hey, come on. Is this any way for a Fire Nation princess to act? What good will pouting do?" She nibbled at her quivering lower lip. "Here, how about this. You take a few more days of vacation, come with me on my trip to Ba Sing Se, relax a little, then head back to the Fire Nation and fix things with Zuko. Deal?"

She looked at him with wide, glassy eyes, her deep blue gaze piercing his own. "I don't deserve a friend like you..."

"Don't say that-"

"No, but it's true," Katara continued. "I don't think anyone else would stick with me and care so much through all this."

"I have something I think I should show you." She simply stared at him as he got up. "It'll cheer you up, I promise."

Aang led a hiccuping Katara over to the bison stables. At first she thought that he was simply going to show her to Appa. However, with a glance at the numerous stables, she gasped stared wide eyed. Before her were at least a dozen baby sky bison, still nursing from a female sky bison, who was snuggling with Appa.

"But, but how?" she asked in disbelief.

"I was traveling with Sokka about a year ago and we found her in a cave in a really secluded mountain pass. She must've been the last of a herd of sky bison that had lived there in safety for all these years. Anyway, you said that there's no chance for you to have a child, but miracles can happen. Here's the proof," he told her, pointing at the happy family. "Miracles do happen, you just have to keep your heart and mind open."

She threw her arms around him. It was the only thing she could think of to thank him for his words of hope and kindness. She began to cry again, but this time tears of joy.