Hey, here's another chapter. Please don't hate me for this chapter, please. :(

Alright, that's it for now. So enjoy, R&R!

21. Welcome Home

Katara and Zuko watched the skies eagerly for sign of the flying bison that would bring their son to them that day. They were all so eager to see Yang again, but they hadn't received the usual weekly letter from him.

When Katara spotted the speck in the sky that was Appa, she shrieked and started jumping up and down.

"Oh, it's been so long!" she cried as she tugged on Zuko's sleeve.

"I wonder what he has to tell us that he didn't mention in his letters…" Zuko wondered out loud. The last bit of news they had received from their son stated that Master Pakku had passed away peacefully in his sleep. Katara had cried for a while over it; he had seemed like such a nice man and he had taught her and Aang much. She had never really gotten a chance to thank him properly. But she got over it; she knew there was no point clinging to the past. She had to move on.

"I'll go and get the others," Zuko announced to his wife and he quickly disappeared.

Katara stood there, watching the speck in the sky that her son was finally coming back to her on. The same speck that had flown him away.

She smiled and a tear of joy streaked down her cheek.

But she had that gut feeling… something was up.

"Sokka! Suki! C'mon, we can see Appa! They'll be back soon!"

Suki jumped up with her child in her arms and raced to where she knew Katara was still standing.

"I'll go and find Toph. Find Yin and Odoroki," Sokka said.

Zuko nodded and disappeared to find his children.

"I will go and wait with the ladies," Iroh declared.

"Katara! Are they here yet?!" Suki asked in eagerness.

"Not yet, but they're getting closer," Katara confirmed, dismissing that dull feeling in her stomach as nerves.

The sister-in-laws hugged each other and continued talking about how excited they were. Nodoka mumbled something about missing raspberries with her short vocabulary, just as Iroh joined them and the three adults began to laugh.

"Odoroki! Yin! Come quickly, you're brother is almost here! We can see Appa! Come wait with me and the others," Zuko took his children by the hands and led them to where the two women and his uncle were gathered.

"Yin! Odoroki! Come here," Katara lifted both of her children – with much difficulty and a little help from Zuko – and they hugged her tight, as they watched the bison near.

When Appa dived out of the sky, Yin squealed with excitement and Odoroki laughed and bounced on Katara's hip. Neither did Katara any good as she felt her ear go numb and her spine cracked a little. Zuko took Odoroki out of her arms and held on to him, so she could get a better grip on Yin.

They all waved as Appa came in to land and they ran up to the bison when he touched down.

"Yang! Yang!" Katara cried in joy as she raced towards Appa, lowering Yin gently to the ground.

She caught sight of Aang first and smiled at him. But on second glance, she saw his expression was of sorrow and he had tears in his eyes.

Katara stopped dead in her tracks and looked up at him in confusion, causing Zuko and the others to run into her and each other.

The waterbender and the Avatar looked at each other silently for a moment and suddenly, Katara's expression turned to shock and disbelieve.

She begged that she was right not to have been listening to her gut feelings, but as she looked up at the empty saddle, she knew she should have.

"Yang…?"

To be continued...

Cliffy! Dun-dun-dun! I am so evil (please don't hate me; we all know life isn't all happy and perfect). Well, what will happen next? Where is Yang? What will I reveal? I'm sorry that I'm so evil, I get it from my mother (grins evilly).

"What did you just say?!"

Um... nothing! Lol, yea... I'm gonna be grounded for that...

Well, become part of Team Zutara if you're not already.

Now, go click on the little button that says 'review' at the bottom of the page, and tell me what you thought of this chapter.

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