After the time of her life with Aang, it was time for Katara to get down to business. Her first day as Councilwoman Katara was upon her. She knew before accepting the role that she would be the youngest representative by a sizeable margin. Her nerves were starting to make a reappearance.

"You look good sis," Sokka stated while sitting on the couch munching on some snacks.

"Do you think I should wear something a bit fancier?" She was wearing her usual Southern Water Tribe outfit.

"I'm not the one who is on the council, but I think you look fine. You're there to get work done, not win a beauty pageant."

"I know," Katara sighed, "but I only get to make one first impression and who knows how snobby these people are. What if I screw it up?"

Sokka began to scratch the bottom of his beard. "Hmmm… I suppose you would never be able to have them respect you. They may even vote to kick you off the council and have you replaced. Then, dad would have to disown you from our family to prevent us from being the laughingstock of our tribe."

"Ha ha, very funny Sokka," she said sarcastically.

"I don't get why you always do this," Sokka said while shaking his head. "I bet you had the same conversation with dad before you left. I'll say the same thing he probably said, you'll be fine. Now get out of here!"

Katara knew Sokka was right. She didn't know why she was getting all worked up for something so trivial like what she was wearing, but she couldn't help it. This was her first day as a councilwoman in Republic City. It is one of the most important jobs in the world and she knew a lot of people were counting on her.

She walked out the door and to her surprise, Jin was waiting for her on a carriage. Her face lit up when she saw Katara approaching.

"Hey Katara! Are you excited for your first day?"

Katara laughed at Jin's enthusiasm. "Very excited."

On the way to city hall, Katara used the time to ask Jin all about the other council members' personalities.

"Nurloq is the Northern Water Tribe councilmen. I think out of everybody, he is the one who you may but heads with the most."

"Never heard of him. Is it because he is a sexist?"

"Well… I wouldn't say sexist, but he is certainly a fan of tradition and formality."

"I dealt with men from the North when they came to my tribe to help rebuild. I think I can manage to put him in his place if the time comes."

Jin laughed at her friend's confidence before she continued. "Next is Gisha, the Earth Kingdom Representative. She is the oldest member of the council, but she somehow brings the most energy."

"Really?"

"Yep! Everybody loves her. Sometimes she can get a little off track, but she gets the job done at the end of the day and her people skills more than makes up for it."

"I can't wait to meet her. What about the Fire Nation representative?"

"That would be Zi. He is by far the hardest working person I have ever been around. He may get on your case at times, but he means well."

Katara nodded and realized they arrived. She was completely blown away by her new work place. Outside of the sheer size, the architecture of the city hall was absolutely gorgeous. It looked more like a palace for a Queen than a government building. Inside, the attention to detail was even more stunning. She had heard that when it came to architecture, no one came close to earthbenders and she could easily see why.

After Jin gave Katara a brief tour, she led her to her office upstairs. It was in the corner right next to an office than was significantly larger than the rest.

"That is Avatar Aang's," Jin said noticing Katara's attention had drifted over to the office next to hers. "I guess being the Avatar means he gets the biggest office. Pretty cool that your office is right next to his isn't it?"

Katara did her best to conceal the massive smile that was threatening her face before she answered Jin as calmly as possible. "I suppose, but I'm here to get work done."

"I'll let you get situated. The agenda for the day will always be placed on your desk first thing in the morning. There is also a master calendar that gives you an idea of what to expect throughout the month. You will get used to how things flow around here as the days go on. But if you need me for anything, I'm at the last room on the left."

Katara nodded and thanked her before closing the door. The office was unsurprisingly empty besides the bare essentials. It did however have a window that provided her a nice view of downtown Republic City.

She sat down and looked at the agenda and was happy that it was packed with meetings and stuff to do throughout the day. Katara was the type of girl who would rather be thrown into the mix immediately versus being brought along slowly.

She then took out her briefcase and started to place some of her stuff on the desk to make the office hers. Before she could get all unpacked, a knock came at the door.

"Come in!"

To her delight, Aang walked in with a small bouquet of flowers and his signature crooked smile. "I hope you like flowers. I know this office is kinda lifeless without anything in it, so I thought I'd bring some life in for you."

Katara beamed in response. "Thanks! These are amazing!" She took a big whiff and placed the bouquet on her desk. Once she was happy with the how the flowers looked, she resumed putting her stuff on her desk. That's when she noticed the airbender still lingering around.

"Is there anything else?"

"What? Oh no, that's it, sorry. I guess I better go," Aang muttered while scratching the back of his neck. "Um… if you need anything at all, I'm right next door. Ok… bye!"

Katara giggled as she watched her friend hurriedly leave and close the door. The most powerful man in the world was also the world's biggest goofball. A handsome goofball at that.

The rest of the day was smooth sailing for Katara. Each of the other councilmembers stopped by and introduced themselves. Jin nailed each of their personalities. They were all friendly enough people from what she could gather, and she couldn't wait to make Republic City a better place along their sides.

As Katara was getting ready to leave for the day, she was startled when she heard yelling. Being nosy, she couldn't resist the temptation to see what all of the commotion was about. She casually crept out her office and discovered it was coming from the office adjacent from her that belonged to Zi. Unfortunately, she couldn't make out a single word as the door was closed.

She did her best to stall for time to figure out who was causing all the ruckus, so she bent down to pretend she was adjusting her boots. When the door opened, her eyes shot up and her stomach dropped for who she saw. It was Aang.

While Aang was a gentle soul, Katara knew he was human being. No matter how calm and kind a person is, if the right buttons are pushed, they will explode. Still, hearing him yell like that was very surprising considering how sweet he is and the fact that he seemed to be in a good mood when he greeted her in the morning.

Katara watched Aang storm out of the office. She could practically see steam coming out of his ears as he slammed his own door shut. What in the world could have sent him off like that? It certainly wasn't something trivial like how she took on Sokka for not doing the dishes when they were kids. This was something serious. Whatever it was, she was dying to find out.

The rest of the week flew by for Katara. She was swamped with meetings as the city's most important figures were eager to meet their new councilwoman. The most intriguing meeting had to have been with a passionate cabbage merchant who had harsh words for the Avatar.

While she loved her new job and the responsibilities that came with it, she quickly found out the best part of her day was when a certain airbender stopped in for a daily chat. It was mostly just small talk, but Katara couldn't help but feel giddy every time he walked in with his crooked smile.

Even though she had been reunited with Aang for only a handful of days, she wasn't afraid to admit to herself that she had a full-blown crush on him. Besides the physical attraction, she felt so at ease when talking to him.

One conversation was centered on why the cabbage merchant hated him so much. Another was centered about how Toph gave him the nickname "Twinkle Toes". They could talk about anything and the conversation felt like it could go on forever.

The one thing she was worried about was if it would be too soon to give him not so subtle hints she wouldn't mind being more than friends. Afterall, it would be rather awkward if he didn't feel the same. But she could tell Aang was feeling the sparks as well. From his nervous habit of rubbing the back of his neck, to the blush after she kissed him on the cheek, to his eyes lingering on her a little more than necessary, there was definitely something there.

Regardless, she loved how close they were already. She was hoping that closeness would lead to him talking about whatever got him so riled up earlier in the week, but Katara realized that it would be up to her to initiate it.

It was now Friday and Aang was in her office once again with their usual small talk. Katara decided to just go for it.

"Hey Aang, can I ask you something kind of personal? If it's none of business, just say the word."

He simply smiled at her. "Ask away."

"What got you so mad the other day?"

She watched his smile fade and knew she might have been better off keeping her nosiness in check.

"You're right. That is none of your business," he said rather sternly.

Her face fell at his strong reaction. "Sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

Aang sighed and sat down in the seat in front of Katara's desk. She could see the wheels spinning in his head and was hoping maybe this would do him some good to get whatever it is off his chest.

"No, it's ok. I'm sure I created quite the scene," he said while chuckling. "But it really is a very sensitive subject."

"It's fine Aang, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"You're gonna find out eventually so I guess I should just spill it. As you know, I am the last airbender," he said solemnly. "Six months ago, the council came up with a proposal to address that issue. Understand where I am going with this?"

She shook her head and he gave her a small smile.

"The council proposed that each nation offer five of their women to help me rebuild my people's population."

"Oh."

"The proposal would involve married women only who have to volunteer in order to be selected. That way there wouldn't be any feelings in the mix. If the child turned out to be an airbender, they would turn them over to me. The mother would still be able to contact the child and the child would not be kept in the dark about who their mother is."

"What if the child wasn't a bender?"

"Then the mother would raise them with their family. I'd still be able to contact them and be a part in their lives, just not in an airbender way."

There was a long stretch of silence before Aang abruptly stood from his chair and started pacing.

"The sad part is the proposal is very good and it's probably what's best for my people's future. Sure, it needs to be ironed out a little more, but the structure is there. Zi has prospects lined up from the Fire Nation who have already volunteered. That's why I blew up on him. I feel so selfish for not jumping on board and I was just taking out my frustrations with the whole situation on him."

"I don't think it's selfish at all," Katara said with conviction. "Maybe this plan is a good idea on paper, but life doesn't happen on paper. It happens in the real world with real human beings. Who knows how things will turn out once the ball gets rolling. If you feel uncomfortable with this proposal, you shouldn't feel guilty about it."

"You think so?"

"Yes," she answered with zero hesitation. "It's easy for anyone not in your shoes to say how simple this would be because they aren't the ones who would be affected personally. At the end of the day, it's your life and your potential children's lives. What do you want?"

Aang was shell shocked by how passionate the waterbender was about this topic. But at the same time, he appreciated that someone on the council had his back on the issue. He took a seat and let out a deep breath before answering her.

"I think… I want a family, a real one," he stated quietly. "My life is so… crazy and having a normal family would be nice. I know that it is my responsibility to ensure my people live on when I'm gone but at what cost? I don't blame the council for proposing this as they have the best interests of the world at heart. But the idea of having children with random women just doesn't feel right."

"Well, I think you have your answer to what you should do."

"You're right," he said while standing up. "I should go talk to Zi and give him a firm answer."

As he was about to walk out the door, he stopped suddenly.

"I have something to ask of you," he started cautiously. "If you're uncomfortable with it, just tell me, ok? It has nothing to do with your work here."

Katara nodded and her heartbeat started to pick up drastically. Was he about to ask her out? It would be too soon for that right? But then again, if he didn't think it was too soon, then why should she?

"I'd like you to accompany me on an undercover mission."

Katara quickly shook off the disappointment of him not asking her out and was intrigued by what Avatar mission Aang needed her for.

"Why me?"

"You're one of the best waterbenders in the world correct?"

She blushed a little at his compliment before answering. "I suppose so."

"There is a waterbender in the city who Toph believes has created his own underground criminal empire. They haven't been able to gain any hard evidence to be able to convict him, but from looking at the case myself, it's clear this guy is trouble."

"What exactly would we be doing on this mission?"

"We'll be trailing him with the hope that we'd be able to get some dirt on him. He tends to conduct business in the middle of the night so it shouldn't be too difficult to avoid detection. Toph's sources have told her that the guy's waterbending skills are unique which is why she doesn't want any of her own people to get caught in something they can't handle. That's why I'd like you to accompany me in case this mission takes a left turn. You in?"

"I'm in," she answered with confidence. "Does this mystery man have a name?"

He nodded. "Yakone."