Author's note: Hey guys, sorry for this one taking a little longer than usual - it's been a rough week, but I had to pull through for you guys! This was my favourite (and the hardest) chapter to write so far, and I'm excited to show more of Katara and Kya's relationship as we move through the story. It also answers some questions left open in the earlier chapters that a few of you have been asking about... As always, enjoy!

This chapter's song is 'Babys' by Bon Iver. I listened to it a lot while writing the final part, so hopefully it'll help set the mood... A new artist next week, I promise!

'YES!'

Kya was dashing around the courtyard like a headless chicken, ecstatically screaming her head off. She turned back to Katara.

'I DID IT!'

The older waterbender couldn't help but let out a laugh.

'You did.'

Kya was about three hours into beginning her formal waterbending training under Katara, and already showing signs of great promise.

'What's next Kat- erm - Sifu Katara?!'

'Patience. You're strong, but your form is still sloppy' she said kindly. 'You need to really feel the push and pull of the energy around you. Allow yourself to give in to it. A master waterbender works with her environment, not against it. She takes things as they come, and learns to move with the flow of the whole universe.'

Kya let out an overly dramatic sigh.

'Okay…'

'Hey. Keep your head up. You're doing great.'

Katara looked down at Kya, then gave a wry smirk.

'You're a much faster learner than your dad was…'

Kya let out a burst of giggles.

'I HEARD THAT!'

Aang had shouted over from the other side of courtyard. He was sat, nonchalantly spinning two marbles in the air above his hand, watching his daughter learn. He knew this was the right thing to do. Katara was a much better teacher than he ever could be. She let out an awkward exhale, before briefly glancing over and giving him a nod.

As much fun as Kya was having, the frosty air between the two former lovers remained very much unthawed. They hadn't really spoken since their encounter in the kitchen two nights ago, and Aang couldn't figure out if it was Katara keeping her distance or him subconsciously avoiding talking. Probably both.

As he watched the two waterbenders return to their training, Kya a tiny imperfect mirror of Katara, Aang found himself imagining a life that wasn't his own. Where this was what he did, every day. No responsibility. No pressure. Just the three of them together.

'Aang.'

He turned, to see Sokka strolling up behind him. He was looking troubled, but broke into a smile once he caught sight of Katara and Kya.

'She's beautiful.'

'Yeah. Oh - Kya, oh yeah, no, she is.'

Sokka smirked. Aang blushed. Idiot.

'You ok? I haven't seen you much since I arrived.'

'I know. I'm sorry. We have dinner on Friday to catch up, I've just been so swept up in all of this…'

The reference to their conversation was clear. Aang's demeanour shifted, just a touch.

'Right. About that-'

'Can you come with me for a minute? Something's come up.'

This didn't sound good. Sokka didn't seem himself. Then again, seven years running a city can take a lot of wind out of your sails.

Aang jogged lightly over to Kya and Katara.

'Am I ok to leave you two for a bit?' He gestured to Sokka, 'he needs something'.

'Oh…uh, sure.'

Katara seemed reticent. This - Kya - it just all felt a bit…much. Not that she had much choice. She knew what was Sokka was dealing with was no laughing matter. Aang looked her in the eyes, for just a second.

'Thank you. I'll see you soon sweetie.'

'Okay' they both said, without even thinking. Aang stopped for a moment. Katara could have screamed. He smiled, kindly. 'Okay.'

He dashed off to join her brother, leaving her with Kya staring up at her, dinner plate eyes beaming with excitement for a day with Katara.

'Another one?'

'Yeah. Afraid so.'

'Oh no…'

Aang looked crestfallen. He was already concerned by what Sokka had told him the other day, and this was the confirmation of a niggling fear he had held in the back of his mind since…

'It's like they're dead…but not? Does that make sense?' Sokka had asked. 'Honestly…no.' Aang had replied. He had no idea what was happening. This wasn't something he'd seen before. The room the two friends had entered was large, enough space for thirty or so beds. About half of them were filled. The people in them looked entirely normal, but something felt off. Like their spirit was somehow absent. A few of them were surrounded by family members, in tears, whispering, pleading with their loved ones to recognise them - to no avail.

As they walked up the long row of beds, Aang couldn't help but feel immensely uncomfortable.

'We keep finding them around the city. One night, they'll be completely normal, spending time with their families, laughing over something someone said at dinner, and then suddenly they'll wake up like this. They can stand, and walk around, but it's like they've had their personalities just wiped away. They're an empty shell. We can't understand how, and as far as we know, they can't be brought back… I was hoping you might be able to work some spirit-y avatar magic and figure out what's going on.'

'It doesn't really work like that, Sokka…'

Aang hated that he couldn't feel more up to the task, but his mind was back at the courtyard. Back with Katara. He hadn't seen her in so long and honestly, she looked amazing - somehow even better than when they were teenagers - and he had barely been able to think about anything since. How was he not over her?

'I understand. Look, we'll keep an eye on it. But if you think of something-'

'I'll try. I'll contact my past lives. See if any of them know anything about what could be going on.'

'Thanks.'

The two of them paused. It had been so long.

'It's good to have you back Aang. I- We've all missed you.'

'Me too. It's good to see you again.'

Aang shook off the memory as the two of them headed quickly back to the room. It hadn't changed since they were last there, save for the addition of a couple of extra beds at the far end.

'Is that him?'

'Yeah.'

Sat on the farthest bed was the fisherman. He looked empty. Vacant.

'We got a report in last night that a boat was drifting out in the bay. Toph sent someone to check it out, and they found him aboard. Same as all the others. Can't say a word.'

Aang approached the man, quietly. He bent down to his level, and stared into his eyes. It was terrifying - there was simply nothing there. Shaking off the nervous feeling it gave him, he turned back to Sokka.

'I'm going to see if I can contact…someone. I'll try to figure this out. I promise.'

'Ok. If there's anything you need-'

'Actually there is. This might take a while. Can you make sure Kya's ok? I know she's with Katara but I don't want to impose…'

'Done.'

Aang smiled.

'Thanks. Oh by the way, I forgot to ask…'

Aang trailed off.

'Yeah?'

'Oh, um, never mind.'

'No what is it?'

'Is Katara, you know, ok? With me being here? It's just she's seemed kinda frosty.'

Sokka smirked.

'Yeah. She's fine. Just needs some time to get used to it. She was really broken up after you left. We couldn't get her to talk to anyone for weeks. If I'm honest, I think you going changed something in her. She struggled, Aang.'

Something in hearing that made Aang's heart soar and break at the same time. He couldn't explain it.

'Oh. Um. Yeah. It was rough…'

'She's glad to have you home. It might take her a while to show it but, you know. It's Katara. When have we ever been able to figure out what going on inside her head?'

Aang let out a breathy chuckle.

'I should go try and figure this out. I'll come find you if I do.'

'I'll be here. Good luck.'

And with that, Aang slowly left the room, glancing back and smiling before he left. He took a moment to enjoy the fresh air when he stepped outside. He took out his old bison whistle, and blew hard. There was someone he needed to see…

Katara was exhausted. Where was Aang? The avatar had been gone for nearly the whole day, and as sweet as Kya was, the endless energy on the kid was beginning to wear her down. Sokka had dropped by earlier, and said that How does he deal with her every day? She had to admit, she was in awe of Aang. I guess that's what happens when you have a kid, though… Oh yeah. Kya was Aang's kid. She had been trying to picture the mother all day. How could he? Just replace me with some other water tribe girl? She wondered for a brief moment if she ever knew her. Kya was just six years old. So that means that - just after we - he went and… Katara pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, unable to bear the thought. Was it her fault? Did he want a child? Was she the one holding them back? How badly had she hurt him? Or was it that she hadn't really hurt him at all? So soon after…

'Are you ok?'

A small, quiet voice shook Katara out of her head. Kya had sat down next to her on one of the benches in the courtyard. She had something different about her - she was calmer, and looked almost sad.

'Wh- Oh. Yes. I'm fine. Just…thinking.'

'About what?'

'Nothing. Nothing important anyway.'

How on earth this little girl had the ability to make Katara shrink back into herself she had no idea. Just the idea of her alone…her very being - it implied something that Katara just wasn't able to reconcile with.

'My daddy says that a lot.'

Katara smiled.

'Does he now?'

'Yeah. He doesn't sleep a lot either.'

'Really?'

'Yeah. He doesn't think I know. He tries to hide from me when he wakes up, but I know. I just pretend to be asleep.'

'Oh. He probably doesn't want you to know about it because he thinks it would upset you'.

A rush of memories came crashing down on Katara. Many sleepless nights with Aang. She never minded taking care of him if a nightmare was particularly bad. She enjoyed it. Being close to him. At first they were very frequent, memories of the war, of him nearly dying in Ba Sing Se coming back to haunt him. They worked through them, together. She helped him heal, physically and mentally. Slowly, over the years, they got less common. By the time it ended they barely happened at all. Knowing that they had started coming back after they had broken apart…saddened her.

She felt nauseous. What was once anger, resentment and grief at losing him had turned to guilt. Guilt for pushing him away. Guilt for forcing him into the arms of someone else. Guilt for the way she felt when she saw this child, who through no fault of her own broke her heart by merely existing.

She fell herself begin to tear up, but stopped just short of crying. The two of them sat together in silence.

'I'm happy I got to meet you.'

She turned to Kya.

'Hmm?'

'Daddy tells me stories about you all the time.' He does? 'All of you' Oh… 'But especially you.'

She looked into Katara's eyes.

'He says you're the greatest waterbender in the world.'

Katara let out a soft laugh.

'Well he's very nice to say that.'

'Thank you for teaching me.'

'It's fine. I'm actually quite enjoying teaching the basics again. It reminds me of when I was younger. Life was so much simpler then. We knew what we had to do. Now it can feel so big.'

Kya looked at her, not quite registering. Then she asked, sweetly…

'Can you teach me to do loopies like yours? Daddy doesn't know how…'

This knocked Katara. No he didn't.

'Oh, uh…' She thought for a second…

'Couldn't your mother teach you?'

Kya went quiet, almost like she didn't know what to say next. Katara faltered. That was a mistake. Was it possible that… Something inside her compelled her to speak.

'It's ok! I can teach you.'

Kya squealed.

'Thank you! I can't wait to show daddy!'

'Well then. We should get started before he gets back.'

The two of them smiled, let their hair down, and got ready to begin.

They started slowly, Katara guiding Kya through the familiar motions, the younger waterbender clumsy at first, but much the same as with her bending, naturally talented. She was getting the hang of it. Katara couldn't help but feel just a little bit proud...

Aang felt dejected as he trudged back home from the stables. He hadn't found what, or who he was looking for. He'd have to try again. He'd already been gone far too long - Katara would surely be sick to death of Kya by now…

Suddenly, he was stopped in his tracks.

Through the archway that led into the courtyard, he saw something he hadn't expected to. Was Kya…doing Katara's hair? Neither of the water benders had noticed him, so he stood watching for a while. Wait a minute - those are… He noticed the loopies in Kya's hair. She really did look like a younger Katara. As Katara said something, and Kya burst out laughing he felt a little lump begin to form in his throat. Seeing the two of them just sitting together was like a vision of a life he had once dreamed of. A life that was once really possible. But that only made reality more heartbreaking. The prospect of that life had cracked the moment Katara had pushed him away - and evaporated entirely the moment he left. He would have to settle for simply dreaming of it, he thought. Right?

He cleared his throat, and tentatively made his way over to the pair.

'Sorry I was gone so long.'

'DADDY!'

Aang feigned surprise at seeing her hair.

'Hey sweetie - WOW, your hair looks amazing!'

He turned to Katara, and said very sincerely,

'Thank you. I'm so sorry if…'

'It's ok. We were actually having a good time.'

'Well she- both of you look great.'

Was that too much? Katara seized up again. Her heart jumped into her mouth. Aang noticed. It was.

'I should, uh, I should go change…'

'Okay. Yeah.'

The ice between them, which had begun to break, was slowly sealing up again…

'Come on sweetie.'

'Okayyyyy.' Kya looked deflated at having to go, but scuttled off upstairs anyway.

'See you at dinner?'

Katara thought for a second.

'Uh, maybe. Probably not…'

'What about Friday?'

He hoped she hadn't forgotten.

'I'll be there.'

'Okay.'

Aang turned, and began to head inside.

'She's beautiful, Aang.'

He stopped, and turned back for a moment.

'Yeah, she is.'

They looked at each other in silence.

'You know, her mo-'

No. He stopped himself. Not a good time.

'What?'

Katara looked almost hopeful.

'Nothing. I'll see you later. "Maybe".'

'Okay…'

He continued inside, and upstairs. He would tell her. Not yet, but soon. She deserved to know at some point, right? I mean not that it would matter. We're not together anymore, she probably doesn't… He sighed. He was too tired to think about this right now.

Down in the courtyard, Katara sat, mulling over the day. What was he about to say about Kya's mother? He was about to say that, right? She looked out at the sunset. It wasn't time yet. She certainly wasn't ready. And by the looks of it, neither was he.

Katara shook off her emotion and stood up, to head inside. She noticed a small pin on the floor that must have fallen out of Kya's hair earlier. She smiled, and slid it into her own, before heading inside herself.

The ice hadn't broken. Not yet.

But it had cracked, just a little...