Author Note: Ya'll, I have been loving writing this story so much that I'm dreaming about it. Yikes. Anyway, we are getting close! Almost time!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything

The Middle of Nowhere

The air was growing crisper the further south they traveled. Aang took in a deep breath, closing his eyes as he let his brain run wild. He was desperately trying to come up with a plan, but not matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. He knew he needed to find Sokka and Hakoda. Every time he got to that point, he drew a blank. He admitted to himself that he sucked at planning. "I'm sure once I talk to Hakoda and Sokka, they'll help me with a plan. Get it together, Aang." He grimaced and placed a hand on his face. Why did this have to be so hard?

He turned his head to look at the sleeping Katara behind him. He smiled as he stared at her, in awe of her beauty. "She's the most beautiful girl in the world," he thought as the wind blew through her hair. "How did I get so lucky?"

"Hey Appa, think you can handle things without me for a little while? I'm gonna take a nap with Katara."

Appa let out a groan, and Aang, assuming that meant a "yes", slowly climbed up to the saddle. Katara was underneath a few blankets, but to keep from waking her up, Aang laid down next to her without lifting them. He didn't need them, anyway. Still, he placed his arms on Katara, breathing in her presence, and closed his eyes.

"Aang," came a quiet and slightly drowsy question, "shouldn't you be steering Appa?"

Aang smiled, looking down into Katara's beautiful blue eyes. "No, he knows where Whale Tail Island is. I want to get some last minute time with you before we don't see each other for weeks." He placed a hand on her face, gently rubbing as he spoke, "I want all the time I can get. We are still a few hours away, if you want to go back to sleep. I was going to do the same."

Katara nodded slowly as she closed her eyes and situated herself perfectly inside Aang's arms. Aang closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift into darkness...

Aang was standing inside a large house, holding Katara's hand as she screamed the loudest he had ever hear. She was laying on her back on some cushions in their bedroom. A few other people hustled and bustled about, with water jugs and warm towels. Sokka, who had already passed out once, was sitting outside their room anxiously.

"Get...this...baby...out...of...me!" Katara shouted as she was told to push once again. The grip she had on Aang's hand made him yelp in pain, but he was trying to swallow the pain for his wife. He figured her pain was far worse than anything he could ever imagine. "You're almost there, sweetie! I can see the head!"

"I don't want to be almost there, I want to BE THERE!" With this statement, Katara let out a shout that sent shivers down Aang's spine. He had never seen her in so much pain, and his eyes were welling with tears as he watched, not being able to do anything to help. He hated feeling this helpless.

"You're almost there, one more push!"

"I can't, it's too hard!"

"Katara, one more push and then you will be done! The baby is almost here!"

She lifted her head and grimaced as she pushed as hard as she could. Then, a sound that instantly made Katara calm down came from the doctor. "It's a boy!"

Aang couldn't believe his eyes. This baby was his baby - THEIR baby. They made a human life together. He kissed Katara on her sweaty head as the doctors placed the baby in her arms. "We will leave you two alone for a little while," the head doctor said as she walked out of the room.

"He's so handsome," Aang said, eyes fixed on the little life in his wife's arms. "You are a rockstar, Katara."

They sat in silence for a little while as the baby cooed and cried a little here and there. Neither seemed to feel and need to say anything. They just embraced their new life as mom and dad.

Whale Tail Island

"Aang, sweetie, wake up! We're here!"

Aang awoke, fixing his eyes on Katara in front of him. "What? We're here already?"

"You've been fast asleep for hours, Aang. I woke up a while ago, but you seemed so deep in your sleep, I didn't want to wake you." She walked over to Aang, kissed him on the head, then started to pick up her things. "I know you haven't been sleeping well lately, so I decided to let you stay in dreamland."

He felt very odd. His head couldn't seem to grasp what was reality and what was the dream - it all felt so real. He rubbed his face and took a deep breath. Katara noticed that he seemed a little discombobulated. "Are you okay, Aang?"

Aang leaned in for a kiss and muttered, "yeah, just trying to snap back to reality after that dream."

"Oh? What was it about?" Katara moved in closer as she asked, "I figure it was good, since you were smiling."

Aang kissed Katara sweetly on the cheek. "Yeah, it was us, having a baby."

Katara stepped away for a moment, hands on her hips. "Having a baby? Aren't we a little ways from that?"

"Yeah of course! Doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it," Aang could feel his cheeks grow warm, a sign that he was growing more red by the moment.

Katara giggled and placed a hand on Aang's red cheek. "You're so red," she said as she continued to giggle. She always knew that that meant. Aang's cheeks had been going red since the day the met. And even though they had been dating for 3 years now, it hadn't gone away. Just like the butterflies.

They shared a short, sweet kiss before Katara said "the people meeting us from my tribe are already here. Come on, let's go over there so I can get my stuff on board."

He let out a quiet groan at this statement, knowing that her time to leave was coming soon. And although Aang knew their time apart was going to be very short, he still didn't want her to leave. They held hands as they walked down to the dock, where they were greeted with multiple members of Katara and Sokka's tribe.

"Katara," came from a younger voice. It was a younger girl, maybe twelve, running up to hug her.

"Salla! It's so good to see you! What are you doing over here?"

The girl smiled up at Katara as she let go. "My dad said I could come! Since I didn't get to see you the last time you were home, he agreed I could come here to meet you!" Salla's eyes moved to Katara's right - where Aang was standing. "Is that-"

"Hi!" Aang waved at the girl, still feeling a little red. "I'm-"

"Avatar Aang! I've heard so many stories about you!"

"You can call me Aang-"

Without another word, Salla wrapped her arms around Aang in a very tight hug. She looked up at him and said, "thank you for saving the world."

The red in Aang's cheeks grew once more. He scratched the back of his head as he responded, "um, yeah, don't mention it. Just doing, you know, my Avatar duty!"

Salla giggled and then looked over at Katara. "Katara, you and Sokka are hometown heroes now! We all talk about how cool you are," she started jumping up and down as she spoke, "I want to be like you some day!"

Katara placed her hands on her hips and sighed. "Okay, Salla, you're very sweet. Where should I put my stuff?"

"Oh! Right, come on. I'll show you!"

Without another word, she took both Katara and Aang's hands and pulled them inside the ship. "Here's where you will stay, Katara! Avatar Aang," she turned and looked at him, "are you coming, too?"

Aang shook his head. "Unfortunately, not this time. I need to stay in Ba Sing Se right now."

"Aw," Salla frowned, "it would have been fun to have you around, too!"

He knelt down to get at her height. "I'm sorry Salla, hopefully next time."

"Yay!"

With the excited shout, she ran out of the room, leaving Aang and Katara alone once more. "So, I guess this is it," Katara said as she lowered her head. "you need to go back to Ba Sing Se now."

"It will be over before we know it, sweetie. I'll see you soon."

With this they shared one more, long, sweet kiss. Wanting to never leave, Aang gripped tighter on Katara's waist as they embraced. "Aang.." Katara said between breaths, "they're going to leaving soon. It's time for me to go.."

"I know.. just one more kiss?"

She smiled and kissed Aang once more. "I love you. And I'll see you again soon. I hope this is short!"

"I hope so too, and I love you more."

With this, Aang left the ship. He watched as the ships began to sail away from the dock. "Okay Aang, now you should probably figure out a plan."

Author Note: Almost there! Please review!