A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of an update last week :(. Graduation was on Friday and then the next day I went to two parties and then on Monday I went to the beach. But the good news is all that senior stuff is finally over so there shouldn't be any update-less weeks until like, August in which I shall embark on our annual family vacation (which is only 10 days long so it shouldn't be too bad). Anyways, I wrote this, and then I realized (this is like, the 3rd time I've done this) that I'd already written something very similar x(. It gets harder and harder to keep track of what I've already done with all these chapters. But then I went back through it and changed some stuff around/put some new stuff in, so hopefully it'll be different enough for you guys to still enjoy. Speaking of different though, I may write another M rated fic sometime this week considering that "Awake" was pretty well received. It's an idea that spawned off of SummerSweetheart's 2 month old request, and it's something I know for a fact I haven't written before, so even if this one reads kind of old, that one won't. Happy reading!

I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender.

Katara lay curled on her side, several stray strands of hair sticking to her face as she slept deeply. Only, it wasn't nighttime. Rather, it was midday and the water bender was exhausted from being up all night with Tenzin, who was almost nine months old. Aang had been away for several days on Avatar duty, leaving her, Sokka and Suki to take care of their son. While her brother and sister in law were a great help, Katara was still the only one who could feed Tenzin when he was hungry and was thus forced to sacrifice her sleep on a regular basis. Not that she minded terribly. She loved her son with all her heart and couldn't help but feel her frustrations melt when she looked into his soft gray eyes. Still, the affection she had for him couldn't replace her need for sleep and she was extremely grateful when she'd been able to climb back into bed and shut her eyes for a nap just before noon that morning. It was a pleasant summer morning, a light, silent breeze blowing through the windows of the air temple and soothing both her and her son easily to sleep.

Being only an infant though, Tenzin's slumber did not last nearly as long as his mother's. Only an hour into her nap, a shrill cry broke the quiet, shattering Katara's sleep. She groaned slightly, squeezing her eyes shut and hoping that somehow the sound was only her imagination though she knew it wasn't. She sighed deeply, pushing herself up on one elbow and raising a hand to rub her eyes as she prepared to rise from the bed, resisting the almost unconquerable temptation to ignore the sound and lay back down. But the instinct drawing her to her child was stronger, it always was. Still, he couldn't be hungry…she'd just fed him….Suddenly though, the cries quieted. Puzzled, Katara opened her eyes, only to catch sight of a single Panda Lily in a vase on her bedside table. But what she saw next made her heart nearly leap out of her chest with joy. There, standing by Tenzin's now empty crib and holding his son with a fond smile, was Aang.

"Aang!" She exclaimed, suddenly feeling entirely revived, the Panda Lily almost forgotten. His eyes shone as they fell upon hers, and he covered his smiling mouth with a finger, telling her silently that they needed to be quiet so as not to agitate a now calmer Tenzin. Still, Katara swung her legs out of the bed she'd sorely missed sharing with her husband and sprinted to where he stood, reaching up to place a long, tender kiss on his lips. He pulled her into the closest one armed embrace he could manage, cradling Tenzin between them. "Aren't you tired too?" Katara asked when they parted. She knew he'd had a long journey and the meetings he attended while he was away weren't exactly riveting, especially to someone who preferred constant movement to being stationary all day. He shrugged, still grinning at her.

"Not as tired as you have to be. Did he keep you up last night? And did you see I got you a Panda Lily:" He cupped her cheek, brushing the stray strands of hair out of her face and tucking them behind her ear. She closed her eyes in pleasure, sighing. She'd forgotten how wonderful Aang's touch always felt.

"It's beautiful." She told him. "Why though? Aunt Wu's village was kind of out of your way, wasn't it?" Aang only smiled fondly, bouncing Tenzin from one arm to the other to shift his weight.

"A little. Did I really never tell you that story?" He asked, seeming surprised at her question. Katara shook her head, puzzled.

"What story?"

"Well…when I found out about the tradition of climbing the volcano to get a Panda Lily for your true love, I went to get one for you. But I couldn't get it back to you because that was when I found out the volcano was gonna erupt." He grimaced. "Timing was never on my side then…"

Katara giggled slightly.

"Don't say that. Even when things didn't work out as you planned, I always thought you were really sweet. You didn't have to do this for me." She kissed his cheek. "But it really is beautiful, Aang. Thank you." Her husband beamed.

"I'm glad you like it."

Suddenly though, Tenzin interrupted them, snuffling slightly and making a noise that sounded like the beginning of a wail. Aang was quick to react however, swinging the infant in front of him so that they were face to face.

"Hey little buddy, have you gotten bigger already?" He asked the infant, grinning. Tenzin only blinked

"Daaa…" He mumbled, no longer sounding like he was about to start crying again. Katara's shoulders sagged in relief and she smiled.

At almost eight months, Tenzin was just beginning to learn to speak, though Katara was thankful he hadn't said his first word while Aang had been away. Her husband laughed and returned their son to his original position, cradled against his chest. His eyes sparkled with youthful joy at being reunited with his family, and the only blood relative he had ever known. Some looked down on him and Katara for having a child so young, he barely seventeen at Tenzin's birth and Katara just shy of nineteen. But Katara had never met anyone more ready to be a father. Aang was responsible, caring, loving, strong, dedicated and gentle, not to mention energetic in his youth, which was already proving to be a necessity with Tenzin's almost constant need for attention at all hours of the day. And Katara felt comfortable in the role of a mother as she had filled that space to a large degree in their days of preparing Aang for his battle with the firelord.

"Go back to sleep." He told her softly. "You look exhausted." Katara shook her head.

"Nah. Now that you're here, I don't think I'll be able to sleep until you're lying next to me." She admitted, taking a seat on the bed. Aang followed, prompting her to rest her head on his shoulder.

"You know…" she started. "I barely got any sleep when I was pregnant. I mean, I knew babies were a lot of work, but I didn't think it was possible to sleep even less than…" She was interrupted by a yawn that escaped from deep within her. "that." She finished. Aang laughed lightly and wrapped his free arm around her.

"I'm sorry. I know that wasn't comfortable for you. I would've taken that pain for you if I could." He said apologetically, looking slightly guilty. Katara shook her head.

"Don't be. With you, I'd do it all again. It's definitely worth it." She smiled tiredly and unwound the arm around her shoulders so that she could place a kiss on his palm and then on the arrow on the back of his hand. "I love you so much, Aang. You and Tenzin. Much more than I love sleep or anything like that. This is the most worthwhile thing I've ever done."

"Yeah. For me too. I just wish I didn't have to leave you guys for all this avatar stuff. I'd much rather stay with you. I think about you for hours before I can even sleep at night when I'm gone." Aang's eyes took on a rather sad, far away look at the thought. "I just don't wanna miss any of this, you know? What if when I'm gone, Tenzin says his first word or learns to walk or airbend or you get pregnant again and you can't tell me till I get back?"

"Aang…" She touched his shoulder gently, taking the now sleeping Tenzin from his arms to return him to his crib several paces from the bed. She then sat next to her husband again, wrapping him in her arms.

"I know being away is hard for you. It's hard for me too. I hate waking up at night and realizing you're not next to me. But…you're here most of the time. Sure, sometimes you need to go away to take care of things, but it's been slowing down ever since the end of the war. You used to be in meetings all the time and now you only have to leave for a week or so every month. The world's learning how to function without you and it'll only get better. You haven't missed anything yet."

For a moment, Aang only looked at her, a smile replacing the worried frown on his lips. Then, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and pulled her down next to him so that they were both lying on the bed, side by side.

"I guess you're right. Besides, I don't think they're gonna need me for a while after this. Maybe he'll start talking before the next trip." He said hopefully.

"Probably." Katara smiled, pulling him closer. It was only then that she realized with an annoyed sigh that she was still wearing her dress from yesterday as she had fallen asleep in it and that due to its' rather constricting nature, she couldn't get much closer to Aang. Frustrated, she sat up and tried to reach behind her to undo the fastenings on the back. Aang chuckled.

"Let me help you." His voice was kind, suggesting that he really did want to help, but also held a hint of mischief. Still, his lips were right by her ear when he spoke and she couldn't help but nod. She felt his cool breath on the back of her neck as his fingers worked carefully on fastenings, causing her to shudder in relief as the confining fabric loosened on her body. When he finished, Aang swept her hair over one shoulder and kissed the back of her neck before pushing the dress off of her shoulders, prompting her to tug it off completely and fold it neatly before dropping it next to the bed. Now only in her undergarments, her chest bindings looser than usual from feeding Tenzin, she turned back to her husband.

"You too." She insisted, not even waiting for his permission before undoing his sash, carefully removing his wooden pendant, and lifting his shirt over his head for him. "There." She smiled, satisfied.

"Mmm." Aang pulled her down next to him again so that her back was pressed flush against his chest, bringing them as close as they could get. He nuzzled her fondly, scattering kisses over her shoulders and back. Shuddering slightly, Katara turned over to face him, returning the kisses on his collarbone, neck and face. He stopped her though, cupping her face with one hand while the other arm wrapped around her waist and kissing her soundly on the lips. Much to her disappointment though, she was forced to pull away sooner than she had intended as a yawn rose from within her. Aang however, only smiled lovingly.

"You are tired." He grinned. Katara wanted to protest, but her eyes were already drooping. She nodded.

"Yeah. We can finish this when I wake up though, right?" She asked.. Aang laughed.

"Of course." He stretched his free arm under her so that she could rest her head on it. "I'm not going anywhere."