Response to Reviews:
lalaanddiki: Thank you for the feedback and I agree! I will go back and fix the action details later. The earthbended on the roof was supposed to be Aang bending from the ground below but I missed that detail.
UGudBroXD: Good catch on the parallel! It was intentional :)
phieillydinyia: I am VERY evil! But, hopefully this chapter eases some concerns.
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender
April
Three weeks had come and gone since Aang was injured and became comatose. The world outside his hospital window changed around him while he stayed the same. Unbeknownst to Aang, his condition altered the lives of more people than he would ever know. The person who felt this ripple effect the most was Katara, sitting by his side from the very beginning to the very end of visitation times. She only knew the times and days of the week because of the visitation schedule. Outside of seeing Aang, she lived a sort of half-life. Sleeping in short intervals of one to two hours at a time and showering only when Sokka commented on her odor. Nothing seemed real to her and everything she experienced was all so painful.
During these past three weeks, Katara had lost a significant amount of weight. In a foggy memory, Katara overheard Toph whispering about the slow, sad heartbeat present in Katara. The young waterbender couldn't deny the truth in what Toph had said. This is what it felt like to have your heart slowly breaking, she was sure of it. She continued to deny the food offered to her from her brother, her father, and Monk Gyatso. "Please eat something, Katara," was the refrain she too often heard. The only time she would eat would be at home when she couldn't sleep and needed something to focus on. Katara had become accustomed to her sparse meals of rice and bone broth.
Much to the approval of Hakoda, the school allowed Katara to end the semester early due to the traumatic event and bravery shown during their fight with Ozai's forces. School was the furthest thing from her mind. She barely remembered that she would typically be focused on homework during the times she visited Aang in school. Periodically, she would get visits and texts from friends, but were often ignored or met with muted enthusiasm. When she wasn't with Aang, she was alone.
Katara would spend the majority of her visitation time healing Aang. Sometimes she would play a playlist he made for her but it wouldn't last long as she would begin to cry and worried she wouldn't be able to stop. Her despondency over not seeing any changes and not knowing if he was getting better only grew more and more. She wasn't family and didn't want to ask Gyatso how Aang was doing. It tore her up inside but she continued every day moving her glowing, hands across his meridians and over his injuries. This is all she could do so she would forge ahead as long as she was able.
About an hour into her time with Aang, she heard shuffled feet enter the room but she brought her attention back to healing. She had assumed it was Monk Gyatso or her brother. "I'm fine and I don't want any food," she said curtly. Her peace was interrupted by the words spoken behind her. "I didn't bring any food but I do want to apologize." Katara whipped her head around to see Zuko standing in the middle of the room with his eyes full of sadness and regret. He slowly walked over to the right side of her.
Katara turned her eyes back to Aang as she scoffed, "I can't believe you're showing your face here after all this time. Why now?" Zuko's shoulders slumped, "I know, Katara..it's been too long. I've felt nothing but shame since Iroh told me what happened. Every time I tried to leave to visit, something held me back. Then the longer I stayed home, the more I felt like shit. I wasn't sure if I was able to see him like this." After a moment of silence, Katara snapped at Zuko, "You mean you weren't ready to deal with your own feelings. You know how he is, Zuko. He felt so guilty after talking to you that he…," the words were lost to her, "All he wanted was to make things right. He did this for you after you shut him out. You give him a guilt trip and then you don't see him for three weeks?"
Katara was now glaring at Zuko, as her hands hummed with water over Aang's right leg. Tears began to well in Zuko's eyes. He spoke softly, "I know, I'm sorry. I feel terrible. There's nothing I can say to make up for avoiding him. But I'm here now." The young waterbender's hands never left Aang's body as her expression went blank. She no longer appeared angry. He could tell she was disappointed now, which made him feel even worse. "You think this is all easy for us? When I first saw him hooked up to tubes and lifeless, I didn't want to come in," she looked down at her feet, "I couldn't bring myself to accept that this was Aang. I wanted to run away and pretend it didn't happen, but I couldn't." She locked her eyes with his in an intense stare, "Because I love him and even though I needed to escape, he needed me more."
Tears rolled down Zuko's face as he was steeped in the words Katara just said. He blinked a few tears away as he looked at Aang and then back to Katara. "Everything you said is true. I know I made a mistake but I want to help now. Is there anything I can do?" She sighed as she ran her hands along Aang's hips, "You can be there for him. That's all any of us can do." The young firebender nodded and sat down in a chair across from Katara. He relaxed a bit seeing that Katara was done talking to him. They sat together in silence until it was time to leave.
May
Six weeks have passed since the fight that placed Aang in a coma. The temperature outside began to rise and more sunny days could be felt as the month went along. While Katara continued to isolate whenever she was not at the hospital, Pakku was able to coax her out to practice waterbending once a week. During her waterbending practice, she felt a mixture of guilt and relief. Katara chastised herself for not spending every moment trying to figure out a way to help Aang. Practice reminded her of him in so many ways. She experienced relief briefly in small moments when she enjoyed waterbending and could not feel the weight of Aang's recovery on her shoulders. Once she became aware of this happiness, she would then tell herself that she was selfish and abruptly end the practice.
After waterbending practice today, she ran inside her home to gather a book to read to Aang later at the hospital. Besides healing, she would read and talk to him as much as possible. She secretly hoped hearing her voice could bring him back. As she walked around the house finding things Aang would be interested in, her mind flashed back to a meeting she had with her family a week after Aang was attacked. She was half-listening at the time but she remembered her dad saying he would be home more often because his "assignment was over". Katara wondered what that meant but shook the thought away as it was not important, at least not to her at this moment.
As Katara made her way into the hospital, she ran into her brother and her father in the waiting area. She was annoyed that she wouldn't get her time alone with Aang today but she reminded herself that they cared about him as well. Sokka stood up to hug her as she walked over to them, "How are you doing today?" She shrugged out of his tight embrace, "Same as usual," she turned to her father who hugged her warmly, "This is the longest you've been home. Everything alright?" They broke apart and sat down together. Hakoda gave a weary look to Sokka before looking at Katara. "Do you remember how I decided to take a break at the United Forces after Aang…" They both didn't want him to finish this thought, so he continued. "Well, I wasn't working for the United Forces. I was actually on orders by the White Lotus."
Katara gasped as her mouth parted, registering that Sokka wasn't shocked like her. "Sokka, you knew?" The teen nodded quietly, "Yeah, Dad actually told us a few weeks back but you were so out of it, you weren't really listening." Katara didn't know how to respond to this information but wanted to find out more. "Oh, okay. So, what, how did this start?" Hakoda answered, "Pakku asked me to watch Zhao and gather intelligence after your mother died. I needed a sense of purpose again and I wanted to help protect the Avatar at all costs. That's really why we moved here. After the recent attack, we learned that Ozai knew about our investigation so they pulled me off the case. We're still tracking Zhao, but I won't need my cover anymore." Katara remained in a state of shock as she processed what her father was saying. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the call for the beginning of visitation.
The Nauyak family walked into Aang's room, surprised to see Gyatso and the doctor talking quietly. The doctor became quiet as the family entered the room but Gyatso reassured her that they were welcome. "It's okay, Dr. Kai, they are just as much of Aang's family as I am. Please, continue." Hakoda, Sokka, and Katara all looked at each other with unease at the private moment they were being privy to. Katara looked over to Dr. Kai as she spoke, "So, unfortunately, he isn't showing any signs of waking up anytime soon. He still has been breathing on his own, which is great," she paused before continuing, "There is something else that's interesting. We've noticed that his injuries are healing, which is rare given the low brain function and physical moment." Gyatso looked at Katara before smiling at the doctor, "I think Katara might have something to do with that."
Everyone respectfully remained silent as Katara gathered her thoughts. "Oh, me? I have just been giving him healing sessions every time I visit," she looked at her feet, "They don't really do anything." Dr. Kai walked over to Katara and smiled, "I think they have. His injuries should be the same, or worse, than when he arrived. Your healing brings chi and blood flow to the body, which helps repair tissue. Whenever he wakes up, he'll need significantly less time in physical therapy. Healers are rare outside of the Water Tribes so we could use someone like you in hospitals. You should be proud."
Katara's heart fluttered at this moment. While she knew Aang wasn't awake, she felt immense happiness that her efforts had not been in vain. She had caused some change and there was some purpose in her healing. A smile crossed her face for the first time in 6 weeks. The warmth from her brother and her father hugging her allowed Katara to finally feel her emotions. She leaned her weight into her father, letting him share some of her burden even for a few moments. Hakoda kissed her forehead while embracing her, "You're amazing, Katara. Just like your mother."
June
Nine weeks have passed and the days became shorter for everyone in Republic City. Katara's appetite remained low and her sleep was inconsistent and restless. The hope that permeated her being three weeks ago when she found out her healing had some positive change was short lived. Outwardly, Aang had not changed at all. He still silently breathed slowly without any movement in his muscles. The likelihood of Aang waking up diminished with every passing day. Still, Katara still talked, read, and played music to Aang when she visited him. Even if realistically he might never wake up, it would hurt even more to abandon that hope.
Katara woke up wrapped in Aang's hoodie despite the encroaching heat and humidity of the June weather. As she opened her eyes, the dreams of her mother continued to cross her mind. She remembered her mother's warmth, how she felt soft and safe. Safety was something that wasn't guaranteed for anyone, especially her mother. Anger shot through Katara as she thought of her Dad answering the phone and falling to his knees in agony. The words "unknown attacker" and "dead on the scene" flooder her mind. Katara bitterly remembered the person who mugged and shot her mother being convicted but it was hollow success. No amount of justice could bring her mother back. Every thought telling her to stay in bed was pushed away as she remembered why she was getting up.
Katara groaned as she forced her aching body to stand up. She didn't even notice she was sweating as she changed and left the house for the hospital. She drove past the same streets, walked down the same hallway in the hospital, and heard the familiar steady beeps and whooses of medical equipment in Aang's room. The sterile, white walls and clean smells didn't bother her anymore. She had adjusted to her new normal. Katara placed her bag on the chair near the door, searching for the perfect book to read to Aang before his healing session.
"Katara?" a weak voice called from across the room.
Her heart dropped in disbelief. She quickly turned around and ran to the bed, seeing Aang's sunken eyes open. "Aang!", she cried with tears in her eyes. "Katara..where am I?" he asked in a strangled breath. She grinned after pinching herself in the hopes that this wasn't a hallucination. "Aang, you're awake!" She squeezed her arms tightly around his torso and pressed her lips against his. He mumbled during the kiss with a chuckle, "Ow". She jumped back, embarrassed. "I'm sorry! I was just so happy to see you. I missed you." Aang looked at her confused, "Missed me? Where am I? What's going on?" Katara felt a pang in her heart seeing Aang slowly beginning to piece together what happened.
He looked up into her eyes, his face frowning. "I..I went down. I got hit. Oh man, this is so messed up. What happened? How long have I been in here?" Before Katara had a chance to answer, the heart rate monitor started beeping faster. "Aang, you need to calm down. You just woke up and you're injured, try to take a deep breath and I'll explain everything." Aang's panic stricken face subsided as he breathed slowly with Katara. His face expressed confusion, anger, and sadness as she detailed how he came to be in the hospital. She told him how he was caught off guard by Ozai's henchman, Admiral Chan from the United Forces, who propelled a fireball which knocked him off the roof. She carefully explained his fall, how the house was a trap, and that he has been in a coma for nine weeks. She became quiet to allow for him to soak up what she just told him.
Katara saw Aang's stormy grey eyes searching her face, hoping that what she had told him was a lie. She instinctively reached her hand to his and gave it a gentle squeeze. He gasped as tears began to roll down his cheeks. His gaze was turned away from her, which she understood. She waited this long for him to wake up, she could wait longer for him to talk. In their heavy silence, Aang gave a long exhale, still not meeting Katara's eyes.
After what felt like several minutes, her heart fluttered at the reassuring squeeze he gave her hand. She smiled and spoke softly, "I love you with all of my heart, Aang." He returned her smile, fixing his eyes on hers, "I love you so much." She smiled, "I even like your beard." Aang raised his eyebrows, "I have a beard?" The young waterbender giggled, "Yeah, I guess we know you can grow a full beard. Sokka was pretty jealous, I could tell."
The two of them laughed at this before Aang spoke in a serious tone. "Everything you did for me...I can't even imagine how I can repay you. Things were black after I fell. There was nothingness but then I remembered seeing you for a second in a bright room. I thought it was a dream, but now I know that was real. You saved me." Katara blushed and stammered, "Oh-I, uh, I didn't really do much of anything." Aang strained to shake his head to disagree, "No, Katara, you did so much. I'm here because of you. Thank you." She felt as if her cheeks were on fire but shook it off to focus on Aang. "So, I told you what happened, do you have any questions?" Aang sighed, "Yeah, I do," he paused for a second before asking firmly, "Where's Ozai?"
A/N: I wanted to give Katara her own perspective chapter because she deserves it. Aang's POV will return next chapter. Review to let me know what you think!