NOTE: The italics that are in BOLD are the things on Katara's list that was mentioned last chapter. :)
Ch6
Day One - You made Sokka care again
"Hey, buddy, sleep well?" Sokka said, walking into Aang's hospital room.
Aang was just awakening. He had cried himself to sleep last night, and had stayed asleep all night and through to the next morning. The child nodded sleepily, rubbing his eyes with the backs of his hands.
"Yea... Just...Had the weirdest-" he looked up, and realizing where he was, said, "Oh...It was real..."
"Yea," Sokka replied. "But hey, don't worry about it. After you fell asleep, the doctors said that since they had found the leukemia so soon, they'd probably be able to treat it without any problems, and you'd be set! You've got your whole life ahead of you, Aang!" The sixteen year old smiled.
"Oh..." Aang said.
"Dude!" Sokka said, almost laughing. "Stop worrying! You just gotta have some hope for once!"
Aang, along with Katara, who had just walked in, stared at Sokka with strange and almost scared expressions on their faces.
"What?" Sokka asked.
"Uh...Nothing," Katara replied. "Nothing...at...all..."
"Ooookay then," Sokka said, still smiling hysterically as he walked out.
"What's up with him?" Aang asked Katara as she came over to him with some breakfast.
"I'm not quite sure. I think he's just...I don't know. Maybe he got into someone's medicine or something." The two laughed. Katara handed Aang a bowl of oatmeal. "Here. Your nurse said you should have something to eat, and she recommended oatmeal, so I went and made you some." "Thanks," Aang said, taking the bowl and beginning to eat the hot food.
"Oh, I forgot to mention. The doctor said that you'll be able to go home today, but you'll just have to come back on Thursday for some sort of treatment." Katara smiled. Aang almost spewed the oatmeal out of his mouth in excitement.
"REALLY?" "Yes, really!" Katara laughed. Aang set his oatmeal on a stand next to his bed and grabbed Katara into a crazed hug, which she gladly returned, smiling. She was glad to see him happy again.
After having some lunch later on, the three drove home, Aang in the front seat with a black bag in his hand. The hospital had given them a bag full of medical supplies in case something were to happen, and the nurse had explained to them what each item was for.
The boy was smiling. He had thought he would have to stay in that hospital for the rest of his life, and being able to come home, even if it was only for two nights, filled him, not to mention Sokka and Katara, with hopefullness.
They arrived at their house, and as soon as they did, they ran outside to the backyard.
The yard was HUGE.
It had a trampoline, a small corn maze, a swingset, a large sandbox, a pool, and lots of wide open, grassy space and trees. Aang's jaw dropped. How had he not noticed all of this before?
It was heaven for twelve year olds (really? yes really. i'm twelve, and i'd totally flip out. haha).
The three jumped onto the trampoline. Well, Sokka did, Katara helped Aang get up onto it and then pulled herself up. She held Aang's hand as they jumped. He was still rather weak and a little sick, and she didn't want to risk anything happening on their day and a half of fun before he had to go back for treatments.
They jumped and jumped and jumped, and then went through the corn maze a few times before it got dark. That's when they made a small campfire in the backyard and roasted hotdogs for dinner, laughing and telling jokes and stories for more than an hour.
It was about nine thirty when they decided to hit the sack. Aang was completely wiped out, and Katara and Sokka had stayed up late last night, and had gotten up early that morning, and were tired. So, since it was pretty warm, they camped out under the stars. Aang smiled as he fell asleep. This had to have been the best day he'd had in a long, long time.
The next day, which was a Wednesday, they got up at around 8:30 and headed to the store. They didn't buy much, just some groceries, and then headed home.
On the way home, however, Aang screamed at Sokka to stop while they passed a small pet store. Sokka screeched on the brakes, and then turned and parked in front of the pet store. The three ran inside.
Aang looked over the array of animals. There were birds, cats, fish, snakes, and lizards, but one animal immediately caught Aang's eye. It was a strange looking, shaggy white puppy with greyish-brown stripes that almost looked like arrows running along the animal's body. The puppy was laying alone in a cage, looking sad. The boy automatically fell in love.
"KATARA! KATARA COME HERE!" he screamed. Katara, thinking something was wrong, ran to his side. "What is it? Are you okay?" "Yea, I'm fine! Look!" Katara peered into the small cage, and her heart melted. "Awwww! Sokka! Come look!" Sokka walked over to them, and then Katara pulled him off to the side.
"Sokka, we've gotta get him, for Aang! Do you know how much that would mean to him? A lot...So please, please plea-" "Yes." Katara gasped. "What?" "I said yes." "Uh..Are you sure that you're Sokka?" "Yes. Katara, I care about Aang, too," Sokka replied, offering a smile. Katara pulled him into a fierce hug. "Oh thank you thank you a million times..THANK YOU!" Sokka smiled and returned the hug.
The sixteen year old walked up to one of the employees. "Excuse me? I'd like to adopt that puppy over there," he said, gesturing towards where Aang and Katara stood, admiring the dog.
"Alright!" the worker replied, sounding relieved that someone was finally adopting the pup. "Just come over here and fill out the paperwork, and we'll have him all set." "Thanks," Sokka said, beginning to fill out the adoption forms.
After a while, he finished, and they were driving home, Aang holding the puppy in his arms and a cage in the back of the car. He was happier than he had ever been in his entire life. The whole way home, Aang continuously thanked Sokka and Katara, and laughed as the puppy continued licking him happily. Aang knew what it felt like to have a real home after being locked up for so long, and he easily related to the dog.
"So," Sokka said. "What're you gonna name him?" Aang thought for a second. Giving the dog a name didn't exactly occur to him until Sokka asked, but he knew right away what he wanted to name him.
"Appa."
Okay, I'm pretty sure this is the shortest chapter so far, and I'm sorry for that. Just thought I'd squeeze in some happy time since there's probably going to be more Aangst coming up here pretty soon, and after I put them through all this crap, I thought they deserve a little reward. Haha.
NOTES 'N' CRAP:
-I wish I had a backyard like that! That'd be quite flameo :p
-Yayz for puppies!
-Aw, Katara held Aang's hand. How...random. :)
-Wow, Sokka was quite OOC in the chappie...Or was he...?
-Yayz for Appa!
-Yayz for excited pet store employees!
-Yayz for teenagers adopting kids, puppies, and paying hospital bills without any parent consent!
-Yayz for...Okay, that's enough.
-Comic is coming along pretty good. :)
Please review, favorite, or whatever. Haha. I 3 feedback, and really, really appreciate it. I spend a lot of time working on this, and it makes me happy to read what you guys say.
Hope you enjoyed!
-Kazuki Nalyn Pippenpaddelotsocopolis-
