...

I got nothing this time. :P Just enjoy the chapter, and please review. XD

To my fellow Kataangers: LONG LIVE KATAANG! :D YAY FOR CLOUD BABIES! :D

To all Zutarians: Sorry, folks. *Waves hand in front of crowd of fanatical Zutarians* This isn't the fan fiction you're looking for.

NOTE: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ BOOK 4: AIR, I SUGGEST YOU GO TO MY PROFILE AND DO SO NOW! YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID! :D

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. The show and its characters belong to Mike and Bryan, the brillant geniuses behind one of the greatest cartoon shows in the history of cartoons. Their work is legendary, and I salute them for it.

Guilt Trip

"TENZIN!" screamed Katara down at the icy water below, sheer terror in her voice.

"No!" he shouted, diving off the edge of the frozen cliff. He shot down towards the roaring waves on a blast of air, his desperation fueling his bending. He pierced the tossing waves and slid into the blackness, righting himself as he frantically looked around for his son.

After nearly a minute of searching the area, he knew that he had failed. Before he could express his grief, he heard a voice in the deep…

"Daddy."

He looked down to see a figure floating up towards him, a small being covered in a ghastly green light. His eyes widened when he saw that the figure was his son, whose gray eyes were filled to the brim with black death. "Why did you let me drown?" the possessed toddler emotionlessly asked, ghoulishly continuing his ascent. He tried to move away, but he was frozen where he floated. His terrified eyes locked with Tenzin's, which were full of nothing but the deepest pit of darkness.

"Why did you fail me?" Tenzin continued, floating up just in front of his father. He was unable to tear his eyes from Tenzin, locked onto his lifeless eyes. "Because you failed to save me, you will suffer." Tenzin's jaw unhinged as he emitted a high-pitched scream, a demonic sound that was amplified in the water around him. The Avatar screamed as he felt his insides torn apart by the torturous shriek of his ghostly son, unable to get the horrid sound out of his head.

Aang's eyes shot open as he sat up in his bed, hearing the same high-pitched screaming in his ears. He looked over at Katara to see that she had woken up as well, her eyes wide with fear and confusion. They both listened to the abysmal shrieking, and their hearts began to beat wildly when they realized where it was coming from.

"Tenzin!" they both cried out at the same time. They frantically jumped out the bed, sprinting out of their bedroom as the toddler's screams continued. They burst into Tenzin's room, seeing the toddler tossing himself back and forth in his crib as he screamed.

Katara quickly rushed over to the crib and took Tenzin up in her arms, rocking the shrieking toddler back and forth as she soothingly whispered, "Sssh, sssh, baby. Mama's here. Don't cry, don't cry." Despite her quiet soothing, Tenzin continued to wail and shriek in fearful terror. Katara let out a choked sob as sorrowful tears filled her eyes, her heart broken by her baby's horrible crying. Aang didn't know what to do; he felt completely helpless in a situation like this. "Please stop crying…" mournfully pleaded Katara, tears now flowing down her face as she silently sobbed.

"Let me take him," softly said Aang, causing his wife to look at him with shattered blue eyes. "I'll get Tenzin back to sleep, okay?" Katara said nothing as she sadly nodded her reply, handing the wailing toddler over to his father. Katara let out another choked sob as she left the room, her quiet crying echoing in the halls. "Don't cry, Tenzin," comfortingly said Aang as he swayed back and forth with the child. He thought of a way to calm Tenzin down, and he began to sing in an upbeat tone…

Let the wind blow away your fears

Let the gentle breeze dry your tears

You are safe and now all is well

Safe from the nightmare's evil spell

Now don't you cry, now don't you weep

Now go count some Koala-Sheep

Now sleep until the sun comes up

And let no bad dream wake you up

Aang sang his improvised song for almost ten minutes before Tenzin finally settled down, falling back to his peaceful slumber. Aang placed the toddler back in his crib, gently kissing his son on the forehead as he quietly whispered, "I love you, Tenzin." Giving his son one last kiss on the head, Aang left the crib side and made his way to the door, quietly closing it behind him.

Poor little guy must have had a nightmare, he thought to himself as he walked back to his bedroom, yawning with exhaustion. He opened his bedroom door to find Katara curled up on their bed, sobbing into a pillow she was hugging to her chest. His heart broke at the sight of his distraught wife, feeling stinging tears fill his eyes. He made his way over to the bed and sat next to her, taking her up in his arms. Sensing his presence, she let go of the pillow and wrapped her arms around Aang's chest, burying her face into his shoulder as she cried. Aang rubbed her back as he softly said, "Everything's fine now, my love."

"No…" choked out Katara in a broken voice, "…it's not." Letting out a strangled sob, she miserably added, "It's been a week since the accident, and this is tenth time we've heard him scream like that." Her voice cracked as she mournfully said, "I can still hear it, Aang…I can still hear our baby's screams in my head, and they just won't go away."

"I know…" heavily said Aang as he closed his eyes, letting his sorrowful tears flow down his face.

"The Spirits are punishing me…" sobbed Katara, guilt and self-blame thick in her mournful voice. "They're punishing me for not watching our son."

"No no, forever girl," whispered Aang as he lovingly kissed her head, lending his comfort and support to his grieving wife. "It was just an accident," he added reassuringly. "No one is punishing you."

"Then why I am having nightmares of our son drowning?" she asked through her tears, hugging Aang closer to her shaking body. "Why do I hear voices saying how I failed as a mother? Why do I hear Tenzin's endless screaming in my head? Why, Aang, why is my soul being tortured like this?"

"It's not your fault-"

"Yes it is!" she desolately shouted, her sobbing now becoming wailing as her heart shattered even more. "I was supposed to be watching him and I didn't! It's my fault that he wandered off! It's my fault he almost…" She broke down weeping, unable to bring herself to say the final dreaded word.

"It's my fault too," sobbed Aang, his soul slowly being cleaved in two with grief. "He's our son, and I was supposed to be helping you watch him. I've had nightmares too, Katara. I've seen terrible things, things I can never get out of my head." He kissed her head again as he quietly said, "Just please stop crying, Katara. I can't stand to see you in this much pain."

"I can't help it," she weakly whimpered, her voice cracked with misery. "We failed as parents, Aang…we failed." Both of their hearts broke with utter shame and defeat, and their tears redoubled as their grief multiplied ten-fold. After nearly ten minutes of silent crying, Katara whispered, "We can't live like this anymore, Aang…we need help."

Aang sniffed and quietly said, "Maybe Sokka and Suki can help us."

"How?" asked Katara as she looked up at her husband with bloodshot, tear-stained eyes.

Aang touched his forehead to hers as he said, "I don't know, but we have to try something. This is a battle we can't fight alone."

"But what if they hate us for what happened to Tenzin?" she fearfully asked, nervousness heavy in her voice.

Aang gently kissed her lips and comfortingly whispered, "Your brother could never hate you for anything, and neither will Suki. They're our family; they love us and they'll support us in any way they can."

"But I'm scared of what will happen to us," she whispered as she closed her eyes.

Aang kissed her again as he closed his eyes and said, "Don't be. We'll get through this, Katara…I promise."

"I hope so, Aang…" she whispered, her voice laced with uncertainty. "I really do hope so…"

The next morning, the Avatar and his family were flying on Appa over the frozen city of the Southern Water Tribe. They were all dressed in their snow parkas once more, though the mood was quite different. A morose sense of somberness hung heavy on Aang and Katara, who were sitting on Appa's head. Even Tenzin was quieter than usual, his little body shaking every so often with fear as his mother held him close to her. No one said anything as they came to the Chief's home, which was on a small icy hill near the center of the city.

Aang landed Appa just outside of the house, which was two stories tall and had Water Tribe banners hanging from it. Aang jumped off of Appa's head, landing on the soft snow below. He turned around and used his Airbending to gently help his wife and child to the ground. They made their way to the wooden door of the home, nervousness and timidity heavy in their hearts. Aang hesitantly knocked on the door, announcing their arrival to the occupants of the home.

As they waited for someone to answer the door, Aang looked over at Katara. Her face was heavy with sorrow, weariness embedded in her broken, blood-shot eyes. She caught his gaze and they stared into each other's eyes, trying to send silent messages of comfort to the other. They heard the door unlatch, causing them to look back as it was swung open.

They saw Sokka standing in the doorway, dressed in a light blue parka of his own. Upon seeing his family, he smiled and cheerfully said, "Well if it isn't Aang, Katara, and Tenzin! How are you guys doing…" His voice faltered as he saw the crestfallen expressions on his relatives' faces, and his happy expression quickly turned into one of concern. "Whoa, you guys look terrible." Aang and Katara both looked guiltily down, knowing of their hard task ahead. "What's going on?" Sokka asked confusedly.

Katara tiredly sighed as she looked up and softly said, "Sokka…Aang and I need to talk to you and Suki about something." Aang looked up as he nodded in confirmation of his wife's statement, his eyes heavy with regret.

After a long silence, Sokka awkwardly nodded and nervously said, "Umm, sure. Just, uh…hold on a sec." He turned his head towards the inside of the house and called out, "Hey Suki!"

"What is it, Sokka?" asked Suki from inside the house, out of everyone's view.

"Aang and Katara are here with Tenzin."

"Well invite them in, you big goof," Suki playfully called back, eliciting a small smile from Sokka.

Looking back at Aang and Katara, Sokka said, "Suki's in the living room. She's not going much moving due to her pregnancy." Katara simply nodded and silently made her way past Sokka and into the house. As Aang walked past Sokka, the Tribesman grabbed Aang's shoulder. The Avatar looked at Sokka as he quickly whispered, "What's going on, Aang? You guys look like you're depressed about something." He paused and hesitantly added, "Are you guys having…marital issues?"

"No," Aang quietly replied as he shook his head, his voice weighted down by the heaviness in his heart. "Katara and I will explain once we're all settled in the living room."

"I'm holding you to that, buddy," said Sokka as he pointed a finger at Aang's chest. "Whatever's going on, the way you and my sister are acting is seriously freaking me out."

"Let's just go," softly said Aang as he left Sokka's grasp, making his way inside the young Chief's home.

Inside the living room, Katara found Suki sitting on a leather couch. The Kyoshi warrior's stomach was most definitely showing signs of the life within her womb, bulging out slightly from her midsection. She was dressed in a blue robe, which was loose enough to comfortably handle her emerging midsection.

Suki smiled at her sister-in-law and said, "Katara, please come on in." She chuckled as Katara took her seat on the opposite couch and said, "I'd give you a hug right now, but I don't want to move too much." Glancing down at Tenzin, she cheerily said, "Hi, Tenzin. Did you miss Aunt Suki?" Tenzin whimpered fearfully and clung tightly to his mother, eliciting a confused look from Suki. She looked up at Katara and asked, "What's wrong with Tenzin?" Noticing the heaviness on Katara's face, she worriedly added, "In fact, both of you look awful. Are you guys okay?"

"Not really…" somberly admitted Katara as she rested her head against Tenzin's, trying to lend her comfort to her frightened child.

"What's going on?" asked Suki as she put a hand on her stomach.

"Aang and I will explain soon enough," quietly replied Katara, her eyes laden with sorrow. Tenzin fearfully whimpered again, and she softly kissed her son's head as she lovingly whispered, "Don't be scared, sweetie. Mama's here for you."

Aang and Sokka walked into the living room at that moment, and the Avatar took a seat next to his wife while the Chief did the same with his wife. Once they were all settled, Aang and Katara silently stared at the floor. Sokka and Suki looked on at the couple, waiting for them to explain why they were here. No one said anything for five minutes, and Sokka began to visibly fidget with nervousness. Unable to take the pressure anymore, Sokka desperately said, "Will someone please tell me what's going on? The way you two are acting is making me all antsy, and I don't like it!" Suki made no move to protest her husband's behavior, for she was just as nervous.

Katara looked up at Aang, her cerulean eyes meeting his gray ones. After several seconds, he solemnly nodded, indicating that it was time. Katara tiredly sighed, knowing of their hard task ahead. She looked over at Sokka and Suki as she said, "Last week, Aang and I brought Tenzin along with us to Glacier Point for our anniversary."

"Mmhmm," said Sokka as he nodded, leaning forward and resting his chin under his supporting hand.

"It turns out a bunch of penguins had made Glacier Point their home, though it didn't keep us from landing and getting on with our anniversary." Sokka made no move to pressure her, which she was grateful for. "Aang and I found a spot to sit, and I put Tenzin down in the snow." Her heart began heaving in her chest, and next to her she could feel Aang doing the same. "We started talking, and after a while we decided that Tenzin should pet a penguin." She paused, knowing what was coming next.

"Go on," calmly urged Suki, gentle understanding in her smooth voice.

"When I went to pick up Tenzin…" She let out a choked gasp as she said, "He wasn't there." Sokka and Suki's eyes both widened in surprise, though they said nothing as Katara continued her story. "We saw from his footprints that he had been following a penguin, and when we found out where he had headed…" Unrestrained tears sprang to Katara's eyes, her heart threatening to give out at any moment from the sheer terror she was feeling. Unable to say anymore, she closed her eyes and began to cry, tears flushing down her tan face. Aang wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulder, pulling her into a tender and loving embrace.

"Where did Tenzin go?" hesitantly asked Sokka, unnerved by what he was seeing in front of him.

Aang felt tears of his own sting his eyes as he mournfully said, "Off the edge of Glacier Point." Sokka jumped back in his seat while Suki gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, total shock in both of their widened eyes. Aang painfully closed his eyes as he brokenly said, "Tenzin fell into the ocean, and he's been traumatized ever since. He's had screaming fits ten times over the past week."

"That poor baby!" heart-brokenly said Suki, holding her hand to her chest.

Sokka held a hand to his head as he said, "That's…I...I can't even…just…I-I don't know what to say."

"How about you say that we're the worst parents in the world?" agonizingly asked Katara, looking at her brother with shattered and tear-filled eyes.

"No no no, Katara!" quickly said Suki, getting up out of her seat and making her way over to Katara. She sat next to her sister-in-law and hugged her as she said, "Don't say that! You and Aang are wonderful people! It was just an accident!"

"No it wasn't," sobbed Katara, absolute grief taking over her soul. "We were supposed to be keeping an eye on our son, and we let him fall off an ice cliff. What kind of parent does that?" Her wretched sobbing continued, and soon Aang was letting out choked sobs of his own. Suki continued to lend her comfort and support to the grieving couple, tears also forming in her blue-green eyes. Sokka stayed in his seat, still vainly trying to recover from his shock. No one said anything for almost five minutes, letting Aang and Katara pour out their grief.

Finally, Sokka said, "I think you guys need a break." Aang and Katara both stopped their crying as they stared wide-eyed at Sokka, surprise in their teary eyes. Suki was giving the same look to her husband, stunned by what he had said.

"What?" all three of them asked at the same time.

"What I mean is that you guys need a break from parenting," said Sokka, gesturing to his sister and brother-in-law.

"Are you insane?" loudly asked Katara, shock and slight anger in her voice. "Our son fell into the ocean and is severely traumatized as a result, and you expect us to not do anything about it?"

"Just hear me out, sis," calmly said Sokka as he defensively held out his hands. "Look, it's obvious that you and Aang are really beating yourselves up about what happened to your kid. You need a break from all of this so that you can find a way to forgive yourselves and maybe even each other so you can move on." Gesturing to Aang, he added, "I'm sure Aang knows what I'm talking about."

"Yeah, I do," said Aang. "It's like what I told Katara just before she forgave Zuko all those years ago: Forgiveness is the first step you have to take to begin healing." He raised an eyebrow as he asked, "But what would we do?"

"I would suggest that you two take a trip somewhere," said Sokka, "maybe re-celebrate your anniversary, connect in some way, I don't know. This is something you have to do, otherwise you're not going to be able to move on from what happened with Tenzin."

"But who would look after Tenzin?" asked Katara.

Sokka smirked and said, "Who else, you numbskull? Suki and I will take care of Tenzin while you two are gone."

"No offense, dear," said Suki, "but you don't know how to raise children."

"Not yet," pointed out Sokka as he held up a finger. "I have a feeling that looking after Tenzin is going to help me to be a better father for when our kid comes along, and maybe even give you an idea of how to look after someone Tenzin's age."

"Are you sure you want to do this, Sokka?" hesitantly asked Katara, uncertainty coating her voice like snow.

Sokka nodded as he firmly said, "I'm absolutely sure, Katara. You guys are my family, and I'm going to help you no matter what, even if it means dealing with a screaming Tenzin in the middle of the night." He placed his hand on his chest and said, "I promise on my duty as an uncle that I will look after your kid as if he were my own, and I also promise on my duty as a brother that Tenzin will be back to his old self by the time you two get back."

Katara looked at Aang, and their eyes locked onto each other. He kissed her forehead and whispered, "I think it's the right thing to do, honey, for both our sakes and for Tenzin's sake." Katara sighed and closed her eyes, knowing that her husband was right.

After a long moment of silence, she opened her eyes as she looked at Sokka and said, "We'll do it."

Sokka smiled and said, "Awesome." Getting up out of his seat, he made his way over to the others and said, "Now how about a group hug?" All of them smiled and chuckled as they embraced each other, bound together by their familial love.

Aang and Katara both smiled as they silently thought, Thank you, Sokka.