*

21 year old Yai gave a hoot, "Whose three years old today!? You are little guy!"

Aang clapped his hands joyously, giggling, "Yay yay yay!"

She was waiting eagerly for Jiao to get back from the main temple, but in the meantime, she was spending quality time with her little Aang as she always did. She would have actually believed Aang to be her biological son by now had he not had Demoska's eyes. She chuckled as she remembered his first word sounding like her name.

Her three years with Jiao as his wife and raising Aang, was the happiest time of her life. She was fine with the fact that as fate willed, they'd been trying passionately and eagerly whenever they could, but she could produce no child of their own.

She had to admit however, the sex was wonderful.

She and Jiao were inseparable.

Monk Kannin didn't come back, though Yai remained hopeful that her mother was still alive, living at another air temple.

They hadn't been attacked for a long time now. There was something she knew her mother had to be directly responsible for, this era of peace amongst the Air Nomads. No Fire Nation attacks, no nothing. Even so, she couldn't understand why Monk Kannin didn't return home or even write. She wouldn't lose hope however. She had to be strong for Aang after all.

Demoska's parents died of old age the previous year, and it was vital that she, Jiao, and Aang attend their funeral since those were Aang's last blood relatives other than Jiao.

Jiao came in, closing the door behind him. To him Yai was all that was left. She was his everything, as she had been from the start of their bonding three years ago. He was so happy and fulfilled being with her. When they started off, he was practically making love to her almost every day. As time progressed, their passion only increased. He laughed to himself thinking about it. He couldn't help it. Her personality put a pep in his step and invigorated him in so many ways.

Aang meant the world to him as his son. And in a few years, he looked forward to begin showing him the basics of airbending.

Though being called to the main temple on Aang's third birthday, he was surprised. The Elders asked that he and Yai travel to the Earth Kingdom and set up another home. Yai was going to be Aang's earthbending teacher, so she should find a place in advanced fitting to teach him.

He wasn't sure what to think of this and had no idea The Elders wanted this because of a rumor that Fire Lord Sozin was on the move again.

The Elders requested that Aang be left at the Southern Air Temple under Monk Gyatso's care.

Looking to Yai as he came in, he relayed the information to her.

Yai blinked, "But that's crazy! I could teach him earthbending here! Why would they say something like that?"

Jiao shook his head, "I'm not sure, but they want us to leave immediately."

Yai held Aang, looking at him and hugging him tighter, "I…I think they want to separate us."

"Why do you say that Yai?"

"I don't think they want me coming back. They might want you to return to Aang, but they don't want me in the picture as his mother. I mean, yes, they want me to be his earthbending teacher, but why make it harder for him to get to me? His destiny is to travel the world and learn the elements. If I'm not here raising him anymore, he won't remember who I am. He'll just know of me."

He kissed her to ease her, wiping her shocked tears with his fingertips, "Maybe that's not true."

"I want to know why!"

Aang looked from one parent to the other, not knowing what was going on.

Jiao had to think for a moment, "Either way, we should go."

"Are you sure my love?"

He nodded, "I think we should. But I'll be staying with you until we find out what's happening next."

Yai nodded, "O-okay. But I have a bad feeling about this."

*

Monk Gyatso nodded, "I will take care of Aang in your absence." Taking the child, he held him closely.

Jiao bowed, "It is written in my will that if anything happened to us, you are the last person left to take care of Aang."

Gyatso nodded, "I hope that you two are safe in your travels. Please come back to us safety once all of this is over."

*

"Rin, you're such a good girl." Yai patted the bison's fur, sniffling, "Jiao…I already miss him."

"I do too."

"He's my baby, even if I didn't give birth to him."

Jiao reached, taking Yai's hand, "He's our baby. He's going to be okay, I promise."

She looked to him, leaning to kiss him, "But what about us?"

He kissed her back, "Everything is going to be okay."

She smiled and then looked with horror, pushing Jiao away and grabbing the reins on Rin's horns, veering the bison out of the way of a fireball.

Jiao looked over, seeing they were under attack, and he looked down, seeing a man in full armor, riding the back of a red dragon with a full army at his disposal on the ground.

"Jiao!"

"Yai, I'm going to distract them, you get away!"

"No, I'm landing Rin and fighting with you. We can take 'em!"

"No Yai! You need to get away!" He reached standing and opening his glider, "I don't want anything to happen to you. I'll take them myself."

She shook her head, "Jiao!"

He threw his glider out to catch the wind current, leaping off his bison and catching it as it swooped back to him, "I'll catch up to you."

Yai took a deep breath. She was firm and was going to be strong in the face of danger. Something snapped off in her mind as she avoided more fire coming from below, "He is the one who killed Jigako…" She narrowed her eyes. She let go of the reins on Rin, "Fly around the area, but stay safe, don't come for me old girl." She sprinted, diving off the bison and falling in the air.

She was caught as a fireball was being sent up towards her, she kept her eyes narrowed dangerously as Jiao caught her while flying his glider.

"Yai are you crazy!? I said to get out of here!"

"Jiao…the man on the dragon…he's the one who killed Jigako."

"What? Are you sure!?"

"I'm dead on sure about it. Jiao, I'm not leaving you. I'm staying here and fighting with you."

Jiao said nothing; avoiding more fire that he was sure was from the dragon's mouth itself. Seeing the dragon shoot the flames, he thought of Jigako, then narrowing his eyes, "You're right. It was him." He felt his brother's presence, then closing his eyes to fight away tears as a painful vision came to him, "He was burned alive by that man and the dragon at the same time."

Yai blinked, "How do you know?"

"Yai…I'm still connected to him, even if he's long passed. He gave me a vision."

"We've gotta avenge him Jiao. We stay and we fight for him and for Aang!"

At first, Jiao was hesitant. Then he made up his mind. He loved Yai with all his heart and soul. She was his world and he would protect her no matter what. Yai had always been strong and proud and now was no exception, heading straight into danger was how she was and he respected it.

"Jiao we need to be on the ground and then I'll even the playing field."

He started heading them towards the ground, dropping her before landing himself a good distance away from Fire Lord Sozin and his army.

Yai immediately began earthbending. This ground was definitely to her advantage, "I'll give you cover and take out the small fry."

Jiao stood tall, taking a deep breath, stretching his hands before him, then back inwards before outwards again, exhaling. The wind picking up.

Yai knew that pretty soon they'd be in hurricane-like winds and provided cover for herself, taking down her earth tent when he stopped, seeing that he took out a part of the army himself. She smiled, "We so got this. They aren't so tough."

Fire suddenly sprang up all around them from the dragon's breath and her smile faded as Fire Lord Sozin came in from above.

"Jiao! Get behind me."

He got behind her and she raised boulders, spinning and kicking each of them up at the dragon, providing them with cover and offense. The dragon was forced to move.

Jiao started picking up the winds with his glider, using it to put out the flames from around them, once he did, they saw that they were completely surrounded.

The lovers stood back to back in fighting stances.

"I love you Yai."

"I love you Jiao."

"If I don't make it, you have to."

"We're both gonna make it. We have to."

"Fight with everything you've got."

Yai smiled a little, "You don't have to tell me twice."

Jiao turned around, blasting wind in the direction of Yai's opponents.

Yai spun around, raising boulders and sending them in the direction of Jiao's opponents.

They kept fending off solider after solider, staying back to back to watch over one another.

Fire Lord Sozin looked at the Air Nomad fighting with the earthbending woman and raised his brows in surprise and wonder, "Impossible!" He narrowed his eyes, not seeing the burn on the Air Nomad's arm. He pushed past some of his subjects, shouting, "I'VE KILLED YOU ALREADY!"

Both Jiao and Yai looked in the direction of the shout and had to split up to avoid flames coming at them.

Flipping her way away, she landed and had to begin defending herself with offense against more soldiers. Looking back, she saw that Jiao was fighting the Fire Lord by himself.

She had faith in her lover, faith that he would win.

Jiao was careful, avoiding every last flicker of flame that came at him, fending it off with winds; changing the directions of the fires or putting them out. He narrowed his eyes, whispering, "I will take you down."

Yai had been fighting for what seemed like a long while, she'd been looking back to watch Jiao's fury with her very own eyes. He'd never been seen serious in battle but right now, if he wasn't her husband, her lover, her everything, she'd have been startled and possibly afraid.

Something she loved about Jiao was his strength. He was strong not just physically, but his bending was far greater than Jigako's hands down. She loved and relished having a man that was stronger than she was. That was because of all of the training and exercising. Noticing as he faced off against the Fire Lord, he was using waterbending stances to enhance the wind as it picked up. She caught on immediately, "No separation." She took the same firebending stance as the soldiers, confusing them. She smiled, spinning on her heel and kneeling immediately to punch the ground, creating a quake that would surely get them off their feet, then raising the ground in a wave, performing Northern water tribe stances to make the earth a tidal wave of rocks and dirt.

Suddenly behind her got…hot. Too hot! She spun around and everything seemed to go in slow motion. She'd been fighting close, much too close to Jiao's battle. The fire was coming at her with speeds she'd never seen before and suddenly she was tackled from the side.

Seeing Jiao, she opened her mouth to say something, but closed it in clenched teeth when her back hit the ground harshly. In pain, her hair tie sprung off and her hair spilled out. She struggled to look around seeing that Jiao wasn't near her. It seemed he'd rolled and she spotted him a distance away. Seeing burns on him, she began reaching for him, "Jiao…Jiao…g-get up!"

He wasn't moving.

"J-Jiao!"

He didn't get up.

Tears started falling from her eyes and down her cheeks, and she spoke weakly, "Jiao…"

He started moving, trying to ignore the pain from being burned and getting up in a desperate struggle.

"Jiao!" She wanted to get over to him, hold him, embrace him, kiss him. Take him away from this place. She'd been wrong, her pride overruled her decisions. He was not going to die because of her pride!

He got up, reaching and grabbing his glider as blood coated the areas he was burnt, "Y-Yai?!"

She got up in a struggle, pain searing through her right side, "I'm here."

He looked over to her and at first he was looking, glad, then his face became harsh as he was looking behind her.

Yai shrieked as her hair was grabbed roughly and yanked back.

Jiao tried to ignore the pain and took stance, "Let her go!"

Fire Lord Sozin kept a menacingly tight fistfull of Yai's hair, making a fist and placing it to her cheek, "I will burn her alive and you will watch Air Nomad. I don't know where you found yourself an ally from the Earth Kingdom, but it all ends here." He looked, seeing marriage charms on each of their wrists, "Oh it's like that? Well, looks like you'll watch your wife burn and die!"

Yai looked as Jiao stayed in a stance, he looked at her.

She gazed back, her fears going away in that moment, his gaze gave her so much hope. She was not going to die today.

Rin flew overhead, headbutting the Fire Lord from behind.

In one instant, he let go of Yai's hair and was sent sailing due to the bison's intervention. Jiao used a large gust of wind to blow him farther away, not caring where or how he landed, he turned and ran over to Yai, taking her in his arms and kissing her forehead, "We have to go."

Rin came back around, landing for them to hop on with a mighty roar.

Yai came to stand, turning, Jiao helping her get up on the bison. A shout of pain and bright orange flickers caused her to look back and she noticed Sozin up again without his helmet, angered and enraged. She reached, grabbing Jiao's hand and helping him up, feeling his hand go limp, "No no no! You're not giving up on me!" She was able to ignore the pain, pulling him up and to her, Rin flapping her long tail to fend off their attackers before taking off immediately.

Yai looked to see Jiao in not so good shape. His back, side, arms, all burned. The burns on his back seemed the worst. She cried, pulling his body to hers, resting his head on her lap, "Jiao…"

His eyes were closed and he opened them slowly, looking up at her, "D-don't cry Yai…"

"Jiao it's not looking good for you…!"

He shook his head slowly.

Her tears fell onto his visage, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! You didn't want to fight…and I…if I would have did what you said…!"

He reached a quaking hand up towards her, gently touching over the side of her face, "It's okay."

She closed her eyes, silently weeping as she felt his hand on her face, "No no! It's not okay! I'm so sorry Jiao…"

He shook his head again, "It's not your fault."

She knew he wasn't going to live. She had to sit there, watching him die slowly, "No! I refuse to give up! I'm taking you to a place where you can get help! Just hang on Jiao…"

He smiled weakly, "Okay…"

She leaned down, ignoring her pain, closing her eyes and giving him the last kiss he would receive in his body.

*

Standing in the sanctuary, Yai turned away and ran out, crying hysterically. She was glad that she'd gotten Jiao to this place before he died. She got what she wanted accomplished, even though she didn't think it would happen at first. But now that he was no longer what he once was, she could only cry. He was her world, her everything, and now they could be together no longer.

She stopped running and slowed down to walk. She was glad that the final judgment passed was the one she came there for; what they agreed on as he was slipping away.

Tear streaked, she looked to the bison, "Rin, go back home old girl. Go back to the Southern Air Temple with this note." She reached, petting the bison, "Be safe. I'll be okay."

Rin roared, then taking flight and leaving the grieving widow with a note tied to a horn.

Rin, Jiao's bison companion, was her very last opportunity to go back to the Southern Air Temple or any Air Nomad temple for that matter. Her only way of ever seeing Aang again or searching for her mother, everything. Gone.

As she was walking away from the sacred shrine, the wind started to pick up and she reached, brushing her hair back, smiling a little even though she was still crying, "I know you'll watch over us all Jiao."

Stopping in her tracks and leaning forward, she widened her eyes in shock as sickness took over her body and she lurched towards the ground vomiting. Falling to her knees in the grass and reaching for her stomach, she cried harder once it was over. Understanding that this wasn't a random ordinary sickness.

She was pregnant with Jiao's baby.

And she was going to lose the unborn baby girl in the near future due to the stress of losing her lover and fighting the Fire Lord.

It could have been another airbender…Aang could have had a younger sibling...

It looked like it was true after all. The Avatar was always an only child.

She traveled by foot once she recovered, having with her the things she'd brought with her. The objective was still the same and she understood why the monks sent them away at that moment in time.

They wanted Jiao and I to create a safehouse in the Earth Kingdom. We were going to come back for Aang together.

She started crying again, thinking of Aang. Raising him, loving him as if he was her flesh and blood son. Now Monk Gyatso was going to raise him and Aang would grow up without knowing any of them at all. She could have gone back to the Southern Air Temple, but chose not to. To leave Aang there. He would find her one day at the safehouse when he got older and she would wait for him to teach him earthbending. She wondered just when the Elder Monks were going to tell Aang what he was.

No one found Avatar Roku's body and it had been years since the rest of the world heard of or from the Avatar.

No Air Nomad ever heard of or from Yai again.

I'm waiting for you Aang, here in the Earth Kingdom...

______________________________________________________

A/N: Guess what? Story's still not over. Next chapter coming soon!

As I was editing this chapter and the one before it, I was listening to a song that really completed Jiao's and Yai's relationship, even up to his death. So I came up with the idea of pairing theme songs. Here's what I came up with:

Demoska/Jigako's theme: Mariah Carey - My All [I really did listen to this song over and over again while going over their portion of the story]

Jiao/Yai's theme: Lamb - Gorecki [A beautiful song that I encourage people to listen to! I dare you to find the song and listen to it!]

You can probably tell that a ton of love songs influenced this story. =] And non-love songs too. [Even Slipknot and Three Days Grace songs influenced this story. A lot of Bjork and Imogen Heap.]

I hope Fire Lord Sozin was IC enough. Of all the people to actually defeat him, he got beat by Jiao's bison, Rin. An epic win.

Come on now! Fire Lord Sozin getting headbutted from behind by the bison = pwnage. You know it!

Read and review.