Sokka sat at the bow of his father's ship, feet dangling off the front. His eyes staring off into the water. It was getting colder which was a good sign. We are getting close to the North Pole; we must be! Its been a month already for God sakes!

Hakoda, sensing the tension in his son, came up beside him and placed his hand on his shoulder in comfort. "We are getting close" he started "the air is getting cooler; it shouldn't be too much longer now before we start seeing icebergs in the water".

"How's Katara doing?" Sokka asked.

Very few had been able to see her over the past month at sea. She rarely came out of her cabin, only when Hakoda could convince her that she needed to breathe in the fresh air. She had taken to tending to her own bandages, only asking for the littlest of help.

Sokka blamed himself for her injuries, Hakoda knew this. "Son you know this isn't your fault." He began, but Sokka stopped him there.

"I know it isn't, I just feel so powerless. I can't help her." Sokka said. I should have watched her back. I'm her older brother for Gods sakes!

Hakoda sighed at this "Sokka you are doing everything you can for her. What she needs the most from you right now is to just be there for her and to be strong for her. The Northern Water Tribe has healers that can help. We just need to focus on getting there as quickly as possible."

At this Sokka just nodded. For Katara.

At this, Katara stepped out onto the main deck of the boat. She looked tired, drained, pale. She had not gotten much better. Though the wounds were healing slowly, there was still a high risk of infection and that had drained her. She took a deep breath in and back out. She could see her breath. Cold air we must be getting close. Her mind went straight to Aang. She had missed him terribly. She wondered where he was; if he had even gotten to the Northern Water Tribe yet. What had his journey been like. Was he all alone? How could she leave him like that? This month had been filled with deep though which lead to a great number of regrets. She pushed the regrets aside as she had the pain, they were close. She would see him soon she hoped. If not, she wouldn't stop looking. She didn't care. She would make things right.

Just then, Sokka pulled her from her own thoughts. "Hey Katara, ummm deep in thought there…" Katara looked at him momentarily and then down to her feet "I… I was just thinking about how cold the air is getting again… We must be getting close"

Her evasion didn't fool him, Sokka knew she was thinking about Aang but he didn't press. "Its starting to get late, why don't you eat something and get some rest." At this Katara just nodded. They all gathered and ate their meal together as nighttime crept up on the small water tribe family.

Later that evening, it was Sokka's turn to be on watch. He was starting to dose. I knew I shouldn't have eaten that third helping of delicious delicious meat. He felt a bit nauseous, but he knew it had been worth it. He noticed a flickering light off in the distance. He thought his eyes must be playing tricks on him, but the single light turned into two. Then three. Now four. Is that the Northern Water Tribe? Did we make it? He quickly woke his Dad up to investigate.

Hakoda looked off into the distance at the bow of the boat.

"Dad have we made it?" Sokka asked.

As they drew closer, he began to be able to make out shapes… Those weren't homes. Those were… SHIPS. Fire Nations ships.

"Dose the lamps Sokka!" Hokada turned to him and said.

Sokka was confused. "Quickly son, those are Fire Nation ships!" Hakoda added. At this Sokka flipped into high gear and quickly dosed all the lights on the boat as they slowly sailed towards the lights.

Hakoda woke the rest of the men. "Those are Fire Nation ships out there and you know what that means…" Sokka paled at this… "An invasion of the Northern Water Tribe". Hakoda nodded at this. "We need to warn them. They seem anchored for some reason right now. If we are quiet enough and keep all the lights out, we may be able to sail right past them under the cover of night."

It was risky, but the only plan they could follow. They needed to warn the Northern Water Tribe of the coming invasion and they needed to get Katara there to receive treatment…

All men stood at the ready as they grew closer and closer. Most of the ships appeared to have their lights dimmed as they were anchored.

Small blessings. Hakoda thought. As they chose their route through the minefield of ships.

There must be hundreds. Sokka thought, not daring to say anything aloud from fear of being noticed.

After an hour of sailing, dodging one ship after another, they finally reached a clearing. They saw lights up ahead, turning sharply they found smaller icebergs to hide their route ahead. It was then that they noticed why the ships had all stopped. Ahead they noticed a grouping of ships with their lights on. The ships appeared to be evacuating and clearing out two ships that had been struck by icebergs. They must have been the lead ships. Hakoda thought. They must have stopped to wait for daybreak to avoid collision with any other icebergs.

Though it would be risky, they couldn't stop, they had to press on to the Northern water tribe which must only be a day's journey ahead. They could reach them first. Warn them of what is coming their way so they could prepare.

They were close.