A/N. So, I'll be away for a week after this! Hope you like this chapter!

I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender

She was wringing her hands together, following her brother and Bato towards the large tent at the end of rows of blue tens and crude hovels. The faces of the men were familiar, but at the same time, not at all. Some had got older. Some had scars. And she didn't care. There was no time or will to listen to their stories.

The waterbender had one task. And one task only.

"Open it." Her brother shouted to a man next to the entrance of the tent. Not a man. Her father. He had got old. His brown hair had streaks of grey in it now, even if he was only… forty-two? She had lost count.

As the two men entered, Katara felt eyes on her. But she didn't turn around, knowing it was not important. There was only one thing to do now.

But… She had so much to do…. Cuts and bruises, broken bones and pierced organs, Aang had it all… But she wasn't capable of healing such a big wound, to force the skin to stretch and heal itself. Because there wasn't any to force over the wound.

It was unnatural. Aang was always moving, always talking. And to see him now, being hoisted onto furs he would hate, so quiet and still… It made her heart ache so much.

Not only that… But the words he had managed to utter before falling in this state… My heart belongs to you, my eternal love, my everything… my Katara. Those words had shattered whatever had been left of her heart.

Why had the Spirits deemed it a good plan to hurt him like this! Aang didn't deserve to have everything taken away from him! His people, his world, and now his life! What little remained of the world he had known was inside his head, and inside the little chest Toph had apparently taken with her without Aang knowing about it. When they had flown to this place, the blind girl had revealed it, explaining that the airbender had left it at their house in the Upper Ring after finding it in the Palace, but that she had taken it… Just in case. Because she had felt, in his heartbeat, that it was important to him.

Katara would have felt grateful, but her heart just wasn't capable of it.

As Bato and Sokka lowered the airbender on the fur of the bed inside the tent, Katara went to work.

"Bato, get clean water, not sea water, however! Sokka, get all the bandages you can get!"

The two immediately left, going to search for what she had asked for. That left her with Toph, the Earth King and her dad.

"Toph, take that idiot out of here." Katara spoke, waving towards the king, who sputtered, but didn't object when the blind girl dragged him out.

"Dad. I need a knife." She was not going to like this part… But it had to be done. When her father handed her his own knife from the sheath at his hip, she just grasped it and turned to Aang.

Kneeling down next to the airbender, whose breathing was so shallow she had to strain to hear it, Katara began to cut into the remnants of his tunic. He had made it in Gaoling, just before they had met Toph… But now, the fabric was burned, shred to pieces... Just like him.

"Katara, I could do that." She heard her father say from a corner of the tent. She didn't respond.

When she had cut through enough parts, the waterbender removed the tattered tunic and threw it next to her. Now that his torso was exposed, she could see the cut in his shoulder more clearly, and also the burn marks all across his chest…burn marks that resembled the lightning that had… that had killed him.

Sighing, she began to cut away the trousers. Aang had lost one of his boots, where she didn't know. But as she arrived at the foot, Katara saw the same kind of open wound on his sole as on his back. So… The lightning had travelled from his back, downwards to leave the body here. Good… At least that meant she knew where to heal.

Removing the boot from the other foot, she pulled the trousers away, leaving the young man only in his undergarments.

"An Air Nomad tattoos…" Her father whispered from the corner.

"The youngest master ever." She said through gritted teeth. This was not the time for a history lesson. Or a lesson about the Air Nomads that is. She began to empty the pockets of the trousers, and discovered the pouch she had felt when searching for Appa's whistle in Ba Sing Se. Putting it on the small table next to the bed, she also felt several walnuts inside the other pocket. Probably treats for Momo.

His belongings… A small chest, with a flute, some scrolls, and a sewing kit. And a whistle, and that pouch. That was what remained of the last airbender…

Bato entered the tent, with a large basin filled with clean, clear water, followed closely by Sokka, carrying yards of bandages in his arms. As they put it next to her, Katara pulled the water to her, beginning to heal Aang more specifically. On the beach, she had mostly checked his vital organs. They were battered and bruised… But worked. And the wound on his back had mostly stopped bleeding…

So now, she moved on. First to the cut on his shoulder, that was costing the airbender way too much blood. Blood that he needed elsewhere. As she forced tissue to reconnect and heal, Katara could feel the eyes of the three men on her. But that was not important.

After a while, it was mostly healed, only a scar remained, pink and clean. She would have to remove that later, for now, it served its purpose. To keep Aang alive.

The burns were next. Healing those didn't take too long, except from one on his arm, which she hadn't noticed before. Shining bright red, with the skin peeling off, it was rather severe. But she managed to heal it.

Moving on to his leg, it was more of the same. Katara didn't know how long it took… Seconds? Hours? Days? It was not important. She only knew Bato left the tent at one moment, leaving the family alone.

"Sokka, can you help to turn him on his stomach? Then… I can look at his back."

Her brother didn't say a word, but stood up, taking the airbender by a leg, while she took an arm. Together, they gently, and carefully, turned him around.

This was the most severe. In the middle of Aang's back, a large gaping, charred hole, breaking the blue line on his back… And still, blood was flowing out of it, onto the furs, onto his back…

"I'll have to r-remove the dead skin and flesh, to try and avoid infection. Sokka… Hold him down…" She took the knife again, cleaning it in the water, and holding it above a flame of a candle someone had placed there…

"Katara…" Her father said yet again, but she ignored it. As Sokka took the airbender arms into a firm grip, he nodded to her.

She put the knife into the flesh.

Aang didn't scream… Didn't move. The only sound that he made was a very, so very faint groan…

Pushing down her own desire to scream, to weep and to sob, the waterbender began to cut away the flesh where she had no hope of repairing anything. Blood began to flow anew, but it couldn't be helped… It was necessary to make it better… Healthier red flesh appeared beneath, and with that, she could work… or at least make it a bit better…

When all the dead tissue had been removed, she dropped the bloody knife, and tried not to look at her own hands… Red hands… Stained with his blood… Pulling water to her, Katara began the process of healing anew. Passing her hands again and against over the wound, trying to force the skin and tissue to heal… But it didn't. The veins inside it were able to close, so the blood had stooped flowing from the wound, but it still stood open after more than an hour of work…

She couldn't do more… Nothing more…

"C-can you… bandage him?" She asked her brother, who nodded. Standing up, Katara felt herself stagger, and her knees nearly gave out… Her hands were shaking, and the tent was turning before her eyes…

Walking slowly to the entrance, she emerged from the tent and felt the cool sea breeze on her face. And then, she threw up.

Coughing and spitting, she gripped her knees with her hands, trying to steady herself. It wasn't fair! Aang had lost so much! And now, he had given his life, only for the Earth Kingdom to fall. There was no hope, nothing.

Her mother would have said to always try and find a good thing in such a situation. But there wasn't any! Nothing!

"Katara?" Her father's voice sounded concerned behind her.

"I… I have to get back. Aang can't stay alone." She didn't want to talk to him. In a normal situation, she would have been excited to have a chance to talk to her dad. Now… Nothing. He didn't care. He had abandoned her and Sokka six years ago.

"I just wanted to check on you. Are you alright?" His voice sounded hesitant, as if he didn't know exactly what kind of tone was appropriate with her now.

"Yes."

NO!

"I can stay with the Avatar, so that you could get some rest…" She felt a hand on her shoulder, gentle and kind, but the waterbender shrugged it off, turning around and entering the tent again.

If people think I'll leave his side, they are mistaken!

As Katara entered, she saw how Sokka was finishing bandaging the airbender. The young man looked so horribly pale… His tattoos stood out against the white skin, and he seemed so… so thin. Aang had always been lean and skinny… But the last month, he had begun to put on some muscles thanks to Toph's training… And it had gone, as if the lightning had burned it away. Now, a small lean body lay in the place of the warm, developing body of the airbender…

"Anything new?" She murmured to her brother, but Sokka just shook his head.

"Nothing…" He sighed, and she saw how her brother was gently squeezing the airbender's hand in his own, "Could you… Could you tell what happened?"

She didn't want to relive it. But Katara knew, Sokka and Toph had a right. He was their friend. Their best friend.

"Yeah, call Toph, she needs to hear it…"

Her father also sat down, in a corner of the tent. She hadn't asked him to stay, but she didn't have the heart to throw him out of the tent. Sokka got to the entrance and called out for Toph. After a minute, the blind girl entered, carrying the small chest that Katara had left next to Appa. Without a word, she put it down, and sat, leaning on it. Sokka sat down next to the girl, and Katara herself knelt down next to the bed.

"So… Azula captured me, or rather, Ty Lee did, with her chi blocking, two days after you went away. After some days, I kind of lost track, they suddenly moved me to the Catacombs under the city. I didn't know it at the moment, but it was because they had learned that you were back in the city… They had captured the prince, and they threw him in the cave with me… After some time, Aang and Iroh managed to break into the cave. He and I ran, to find the exit. And… Azula appeared. We managed to nearly beat her… But Zuko joined the fight, on her side…" This was the easy part… What would come next was not.

"He really is the worst." Sokka grumbled darkly.

Katara inhaled, and exhaled. If she closed her eyes, she could still see the blue light of the attack…

"After a moment, Dai Li joined the fight, and we were hopelessly outnumbered… Then… Aang entered the Avatar State… I-In control. H-he was in control of it this t-time."

She felt the tears appear in her eyes, and without thinking about, grabbed the cold fingers of the airbender in her hand.

"Then, when he prepared to attack… A-Azula shot him. In the b-back. I-Iroh saved us."

She couldn't say anything else. Closing her eyes, she still remembered the look of pain and surprise on Aang's face. And it was something she would rather forget than relive.

"What a bitch." It was the only response, and Katara wasn't surprised to hear it came from Toph.

"Yeah. And next time we see her, you won't touch her. She is mine." Katara answered, making Sokka and her father look up, in surprise.

"Katara…" her brother began, but she cut him off.

"No. I don't care. She killed him, and for that, she will suffer. Azula will suffer like Aang does at this moment. And that prince. And Ozai. Everyone who took something away from him." The waterbender bit back, surprising herself.

"Katara, Aang wouldn't want that…" Toph said, but yet again, Katara stopped the others.

"Aang did the same when those people stole Appa!"

"And who was there to stop him?" Sokka held up his hands, and Katara realized he had her there. She had stopped the airbender from unleashing fury onto those people… And now, at her moment of weakness… He wasn't there.

"Sokka, Toph, could you leave us?" Her father suddenly spoke, and both the two people in front of Katara turned their head, fixing the older man.

The waterbender didn't understand the silent conversation between her brother and her father, but at one moment, Sokka nodded, took the blind girls' arm and left the tent.

Her father stood up, sitting down next to her. And looking at her hand, which was still grasping the airbenders' hand.

"I understand how you feel. I did the same when Kya died. I wanted to unleash the most horrible thing, just to feel that little satisfaction of hurting the people who hurt me. I understand Katara." He spoke softly.

"It is not the same."

"Yes, I think it is. The airbender is as important to you as Kya still is to me. Death doesn't change that. It only makes it more difficult. You love him, don't you?"

She felt her lower lip tremble, and for the first time that night, remarked how the wall she had tried to build around herself crumbled. Saving Aang had been more important. Her feelings hadn't mattered, certainly not after reviving him. But now, as he was laying still and breathing, she felt as if the weight of the world came crashing upon her. The life of the last hope for the world, the Avatar… It lay in her hands. And Aang. His life lay in her hands. And if she made a mistake… She would lose him. Screw the world, they would lose a symbol. But one that would be reborn. She, however, would lose him.

Trying to control her emotion, Katara failed utterly. She felt the tears stream from her eyes, and sobs come from deep within. As she sat there, she released Aang's hand, and closed her arms around her knees, shaking.

At once, a pair of arms were around her, and she felt safe. Comforted. Her father was there for her. Who cared that he had not seen her for six years? He was here when it mattered. And he was right. She wanted to unleash pain and suffering on the Fire Nation for what they had done. Just as he had. And she wouldn't care if it took weeks, months or years. She would.

"Shhh… I know… It hurts to care that deeply for someone, and to lose that person, even so briefly…"

At those words, more tears came from her eyes. He knew… He knew how much it hurt.

"Two people who love each other like that can't live without the other… Or at least, not fully. I know." Her dad whispered in her ear, still hugging her fiercely.

"And believe me, that boy loves you."

What?

Immediately, her tears stopped, and Katara lifted her head.

"How would you know?"

At that moment, she saw the hesitation in her father ice blue eyes. The waterbender saw how her father straightened, releasing her from his arms, and looking with a combination of guilt and pain to the mutilated boy on the bed.

"He… the Avatar wanted to speak with me, when he dropped Sokka off…" Her father's voice sounded beaten, defeated and tired.

When he dropped Sokka off… the day after… After the barn…

"He knew of our traditions… And came to ask for my permission to court you… He didn't say it in so many words… But I could tell he loves you, with all his heart." Her father spoke. Why was he sounding so sad? It was a bit much maybe, and not at all necessary… But she could appreciate the fact Aang had taken time to do that.

"I love him." She spoke suddenly. Surprising herself. For the first time… Katara had said it out loud, "And… he loves me." Of that, since the words he had spoken before falling in this state, she was completely certain. Aang had told her about the fact Air Nomads didn't give their hearts lightly. And if they did, they did it for real, without take backs or lies. They did that only once.

"In that case, I'm sorry. He will get my permission the second he wakes up."

He will get my permission.

Aang had gone to talk to him more than a week ago.

"What do you mean He will get my permission?" Even Katara could hear the venom in her voice. And she saw how her father looked sadly at her.

"I didn't… I didn't know… I considered I didn't have a say in your life…"

Her father had said no. Instead of telling Aang that she would decide for herself, and to give her the choice… He had taken that away. By saying no.

"Get out."

"Katara…"

"GET OUT!" She screamed, and her father scrambled up, and quickly left the tent. When she was alone, with Aang, tears came anew. It was all so messed up. Aang had probably felt so bad about that rejection… And yet, he had come to Ba Sing Se. To save her.

Of that, Katara didn't make herself illusions. Aang had come to save her and had given his life to do that. Thinking about that just made her heart ache harder. He had probably felt so angry, so afraid… And now, those actions had let them here, on this sandy beach in the middle of nowhere.

Feeling tears flow from her eyes without pause, she pulled the chest to her, and opened it. Rummaging through the scrolls and the other small objects inside it, she found one of those candles Aang had used that night in the barn. He had told her that Air Nomads burned one candle if they were hoping for a favourable sign of the Spirits. If the candle burned through, without extinguishing itself, that meant that the Spirits had listened…

She lit the candle with the one already burning on the small table next to the bed. Putting the Air Nomad candle down on the floor, she turned to the airbender on the bed.

Maybe… Maybe some more healing couldn't hurt. She was tired. She was exhausted. But it could mean bringing him closer to surviving this…

Katara began to undo the bandages that Sokka had so carefully put around Aang, and when his back was exposed, the waterbender went back to work.

Please Spirits, I don't know if you can hear me. But don't let him die. Tui and La, watch over Aang… He has never asked for something. So I'll do it in his stead. Please let him live.

Answers :

TheQuietReader23 : Yeah, I loved writing that dynamic! We don't get to see much of those two in the series! Poor Hakoda is quite in over his head here, he tries to help, but he doesn't know his children, nor their feelings… So that is going to be interesting going forward! And with Toph, I jut wanted to show that she was also suffering, and not thinking straight

Jjsmith103 : I wanted to show that Hakoda is also a mess, and that learning to life together is going to be a challenge. Aang's chapter are going to be Hakoda POV's for the time being! He is just such a good point of view, with his on tragedy and the fact he has a whole tribe, and now his children, to worry about!

CoyoteLemon : Yeah, I love to put more information into the story, that's why I didn't start this book with The Awakening, but now I have three weeks of unexplored material to work with! But the episode chapters are necessary for the plot lol.

Chinmay : Thank you! I tried to show here how Katara is struggling between the fact that she wants to be angry with him, but also he relief of seeing him again. And don't worry, he will learn things lol!

Gabriela N Gonzalez : Sorry for making you cry! But don't worry, writing the last chapter of BoS was difficult for me also lol! Yeah… She found out, sorry!

Walliss : There is Writing in Water by Greeneyes117, which is like the bible of Kataang fics in this genre. I don't know if you have already read it, otherwise message me, I'll give you some other ideas!