Author Note: Happy New Year! So good news, now that the holidays are over I *should* be able to get a schedule moving. I will be attempting to get one chapter out a week! I can't promise I can do that consistently, but at least for now, that helps me with my planning.
Also, before we move on, I would like to note that I am fully aware that "The Bridge" is obviously canon, so I will be trying to stick with that, but there is a small chance I might change it a tiny bit. So, there's your warning in case I go that route.
Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, or the story!
Chapter 4: Nightmares
"Aang! AANG!
Katara was running. She didn't know where she was. It was pouring rain, and she was surrounded by nothing but dirt and mountains. Although she was running, she wasn't out of breath.
"Aang! Where are you?" She called into the void. She had to find him. She had this sinking feeling that something was wrong…
Snow. Now it was snowing. And there was at least a foot of snow on the ground already!
"I have to keep running," she whispered to herself. "I have to find him. I have to save him!"
But what did he need saving from? She closed her eyes, trying to think what happened last.
She opened them to find no snow on the ground, no rain, and it was suddenly hot…
What was going on?
Her heart dropped as she looked ahead. Far up the path she had been running, there was a person. They were laying down with their back to her.
"Aang?" She called. No response again. "Maybe it isn't him," she said to herself.
She ran as fast as she could as the figure came closer and closer. She spotted the yellow and orange colors of the person's clothes. A chill went down her spine. It was Aang. "Aang!" She called again, picking up her pace once more.
It seemed she suddenly couldn't get closer to him. She felt hysterics rising in her as she desperately tried to get to him. He laid so still. What was wrong? Why was he not responding to her?
"Ow!" She yelled, tripping and landing, face first, on the ground. She turned around, to see that she had tripped on Aang. "Aang," she whispered, confused. He had been far away only a few seconds ago.
"What are you doing? We need to go," she said, placing a hand on his back to roll him over.
"Aang," she said again. His face came into view. His eyes were closed. He must be sleeping. She started to shake him. She suddenly felt an urgency to get out of there, like she wasn't where she was supposed to be. "Aang!" She said again. No response.
A loud gasp escaped her lips. Looking closely, she noticed a red stain on his back. Blood was trickling out of the middle of his back. He wasn't just sleeping.
"Aang, please! You can't leave me!" She cried, realizing the situation was much worse than she originally thought.
She placed a hand on his chest. He was ice cold. Maybe because it was just snowing? But now it was hot. Extremely hot. Why would he be so cold.
And then, her heart dropped to her stomach.
His heart wasn't beating. He wasn't breathing.
"Aang? AANG! No you can't die! I need you!" She screamed, as tears flowed freely from her eyes. She began to search frantically for water, but there wasn't any near her. She could not heal him. She could not save him.
"Please Aang, I need you. You can't go! Not now! Aang!"
"Katara!"
Katara opened her eyes, to see Sokka looking at her with worry all over his face. His hands were gripping her shoulders as she stared at him. She took in her surroundings as sweat poured down her back.
It was a dream.
"Sokka," she whispered, putting a hand to her forehead, "I'm sorry. I was having a nightmare."
Sokka sighed and let go of her. "You had me worried there," he said, "I've been trying to wake you up for a few minutes. You were screaming Aang's name over and over again."
Katara's eyes moved from her brother to the smaller figure behind him. Aang was laying in the same spot as he was when she went to sleep. She watched closely as his chest rose and fell, signaling that he was, in fact, still alive. It was just a dream.
"I'm sorry Sokka," she said as she started to get up, "I didn't mean to scare you."
He smiled. "It's okay, sis," he said as he hugged her tenderly. "We're all really worried about you. You slept for a whole day."
Her eyes grew wide at his statement. A whole day? She hadn't healed Aang for a whole day? What if he needed her? She quickly jumped out of the hammock and ran to Aang's side, placing a hand on his chest. "You let me sleep a whole day? What if something happened to him?"
"Katara-"
"I can't believe this. I have to heal him. He is not going to wake up if I can't heal him! What if his wound gets infected? What if he gets a fever?"
"Katara, he's-"
"You all need to stop worrying about me! I'm fine! Do you not care if Aang lives or dies? Have you stopped to think about our situation if he doesn't wake up? I am the only one who can keep him alive! You can't just let me sleep for a whole day!"
"KATARA!"
Sokka raised his voice louder than Katara had ever heard, causing her eyes to widen. She froze, not knowing how to respond to her brother shouting at her so intensely.
"Katara, please. Just because Aang is in a coma, doesn't mean you can let yourself go. Yes, you are right. If something happens to him, you're the only one who can save him. But nothing happened to him. He is exactly the same as he was when you went to sleep. If anything changed, we would have woken you up right away. Since nothing did, we wanted to let you sleep."
"But what if the worst-"
"Hey," Sokka said quietly this time, putting his hands on her shoulders again. "I never left his side. The worst didn't happen. His heart beat hasn't changed, his breathing hasn't changed. Why on earth would I wake you up, sooner than right now?"
She looked down at her feet. Her brother was doing all that he could, and she still chewed him out. "I'm sorry, Sokka. I shouldn't have said those things."
"It's okay, Katara. I don't know what's going on in your head, what you saw that night, or truly how you feel. But I'm here for you. We all are. It's not that we are not worried about Aang. Of course we are! But we are worried about you, too! You're right, you are the only one that possesses the power to save him, but if you don't take care of yourself, you won't be able to heal him correctly. You have to take care of yourself!"
Sokka hugged her before making his way to the door. "I'm gonna bring you some food. I'll be right back."
"Sokka?"
He paused in the doorway. He looked back to Katara. She was staring at Sokka, with a darkness in her eyes that he had never seen before. "What," he questioned.
"Did he… die?"
"What do you mean? I told you, he was fine the entire time you were sleeping."
"No, that's not what I meant."
Sokka raised his eyebrows, trying to figure out his sister's question. "That night. You and Toph were whispering. Toph was crying. I.. I've never seen her cry. Did she, did she feel him die?"
"Katara, are you sure about this? I don't think it's best that –"
"I can handle it Sokka. Tell me. Did I bring Aang back from the dead?"
"…Yes."
Katara nodded before moving her eyes back over to Aang, bending some water out of some nearby supply, and placing it on Aang's chest. She had been wondering if that was the case, but hadn't truly known the answer. Something inside her felt better, for some reason. Now she knew the truth for certain. But how did she do that? Sure, the spirit water was powerful, but how did she bring him back? What did she do?
She shook her head before concentrating more on healing. No matter what, she couldn't let him go. Aang had turned into the reason she lived. She hadn't felt this much love and attachment since her mom died. She didn't know what she would do if he didn't wake up. All she could do, was heal him, and continue to pray to the spirits that they would bring him back to her.
"Is Katara awake?" Hakoda asked as his son walked up to the deck of the ship.
"Yeah, she is. She was having some kind of nightmare, so I woke her up."
"How is she doing?"
Sokka stared down at the floor, thinking about the conversation he just had. Did he make the right decision in telling her? Would Katara become even more obsessed with healing him? "She's okay. She's back to her fiery self now that she got some rest."
"So I heard."
Sokka's eyes leapt from the ground at his father's comment. "So you heard that," he said, a little embarrassed.
Hakoda chuckled. "I think the whole ship heard that, Sokka. You were both yelling rather loudly. I almost went down there to break it up."
"Why didn't you?"
Tears filled Hakoda's eyes as he looked towards his son. "Because I think it's needed. Sokka, I don't know the kind of friendship you and Katara have formed with Aang. But considering the way Katara has been acting, I would assume he's like family to you. When you two love someone like that, you both are incredibly protective. I know when I need to not interfere."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sokka responded, "I do think of him like a little brother. He's more than the Avatar to me. I've only known him for a few months, but I would do anything for that kid. Unless he hurt Katara. Then he's going down."
"That actually leads me to my next question," Hakoda's eyebrows raised as he questioned his son. "Katara and Aang… are they.."
"Dating? No. In love? Absolutely."
Hakoda smiled and laughed. "I can tell Katara loves him. I guess she's not the little kid I left a few years ago. She's grown into a strong woman and a powerful bender. I shouldn't be surprised. She is only two years away from marrying age I guess. But you think Aang loves her back?"
"Is the sky blue?" Sokka laughed as his father asked that question. "The first thing Aang said to her was technically asking her on a date. He's been in love with her from the start."
Hakoda sighed and took a deep breath, staring out into the ocean. "Hard to believe, my little girl falling in love. Kya would be so excited."
"I wouldn't mention it, though," Sokka said. "I think each person doesn't know that the other has feelings. I think they need to work it out themselves. And they're super young. I'm not sure how well they can navigate it, but they'll figure it out."
Hakoda smiled. "I won't say a word. Besides, right now, we have a lot of other things to worry about."
"Like how we are going to survive this," Sokka moved his head back down. "It won't be long before some Fire Navy ships approach. And we will be defenseless."
Hakoda noticed the change in his son's tone. "Well, then it sounds like we need to make some plans on what to do when that happens."
Apparently I slept for a whole day. At first I was mad that they didn't wake me up, but Sokka said he stayed by Aang's side the whole time. I'm still terrified that Aang won't wake up. I can't think that was – he has to. But it's still a possibility that I'm not ready to face.
I also found out today that Toph says Aang was dead that night. Somehow I brought him back to life. I knew the spirit water had special properties, but it really could do that? How did I do that?
It's been four days now. He even has a tiny bit of hair growing. I've never seen him with hair, and I know he shaves his head because of his culture. But I think I'll like him with hair. I just hope I get to tell him that.
I still haven't worked out what I'll tell him when he does wake up. Should I tell him I love him? No, probably not. When he does wake up, we still will be in the middle of fighting a war. I should wait for that for after.
If there is an after. Ba Sing Se has fallen. The Fire Nation pretty much won the war. I'm not giving up – I never will. But at what point is it just silly to keep fighting? What will they do to us? To Aang? Oh God, what if they capture Aang while he is still asleep? That thought terrifies me. I cannot let that happen. I would die before I let them take him.
Did I just say that? I would, though. I would absolutely die to protect Aang. His safety is more important than mine. I have to keep him safe, no matter what.
And if I face that bitch Azula, I will end her, right then and there. Same goes for Zuko.
Zuko! I can't believe I let him in. I was vulnerable. He seemed hurt, and human. And then, he betrayed us. I'm so angry! Zuko is the reason we are in this position. If he hadn't shown up, I could have defeated Azula before she had a chance to take that shot.
I will end them both.
Author Note: This chapter went wayyy differently than I thought it would. But, I just went where my heart went lol. It was probably the darkest one yet, but, I honestly feel like this time while Aang was asleep was dark for each character. Hope you all enjoyed!
