LES: This was not the original third chapter. It was supposed to be something else. But then I had an epiphany and I knew that I just had to write this. Have I mentioned all ready that these are not in chronological order? This story takes place when Kya is one month old.

Chapter III: The Avatar's Lullaby

It was a situation that had grown all too common in the month since the birth of Aang and Katara's first child: a daughter they named Kya in honor of Katara's deceased mother: the still quite of the midnight being broken by the sound of a baby crying out for her parents.

Aang was up quickly. He had learned how to go without a regular sleeping schedule since the end of the war, and especially after getting married, so he had an easier time adjusting to Kya's backwards sleeping habits. He couldn't blame his wife, though. She was still recovering physically and mentally from childbirth.

The young Avatar pushed himself up on his hands, gazing blindly around the room as he forced himself to wakefulness. His wife, Katara, stirred beside him. "Aang…?" She breathed without opening her eyes. "The baby…"

"I can hear her." Aang whispered, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to her temple. "Go back to sleep, Katara."

"You're a god." Katara sighed happily as she settled back down on the bed and let sleep take her once again.

Aang smiled at her fondly as he brushed some of her chocolate-colored hair out of her face. And then he remembered that he had a daughter to take care of. He pushed himself out of bed and began to walk down the hallway with light, unheard footsteps towards the small room right next to theirs, where their daughter slept, or more often… didn't sleep.

He moved silently over towards her cradle and peered down at the tiny girl… his tiny girl. Her face was red and scrunched up, and her fists were shaking with the force of her cries. She was obviously in desperate need of something.

Aang mentally ran down the list of things that she cried from, from most important to least important. Was she hurt or sick? No. Both Aang and Katara had been near-obsessive with keeping Kya safe from injury or sickness. Was she hungry? No. Katara had been up only an hour before to feed her. She couldn't be hungry yet. Had she messed her diaper? No. Katara had taken care of that as well when she'd fed her.

So that left the last thing. She just wanted attention. It was something that Aang was more than willing to provide. He reached down and gently picked her up, holding the crying baby girl to his chest as his body began to sway automatically in response to holding a baby.

"Shh. Daddy's here. Daddy's got you now." Aang whispered to her, closing his eyes and immersing himself in her presence.

Before Kya's birth, he had never believed that it would be possible for him to love someone as much as he loved Katara, but Kya's birth had proven him wonderfully wrong. He had cried the first time he held her, because he couldn't believe the feelings that the tiny girl created in him. She was his child, a piece of him and Katara, and every bit as beautiful as her mother: mocha skin, chocolate hair, blue-grey eyes, and a scent like a summer breeze off the ocean waves.

Kya's cries quieted as Aang held her. She still whimpered fitfully, but she was calming down.

Aang continued to sway, his eyes closed, and totally submerged in the presence of his daughter so that he was almost in a trance-like state. He didn't even hear the fact that he was starting to hum a tune to a song that he'd certainly never heard before.

Katara was drawn towards the sound of the humming. It wasn't a tune that she had heard before, but it was beautiful. She stopped in the doorway, staring in shock at the sight in front of her.

Aang stood in the center of the room, swaying and humming as he held his whimpering daughter against his chest. His eyes were closed, but his tattoos were glowing, signaling that he was in the Avatar State.

If he had been the same Aang that could not control the Avatar State, Katara would have been terrified for her daughter. But Aang was not that boy anymore. Ever since he had gained control of the Avatar State, it had become far less violent. He had succeeded in making his personality the dominant one and was now capable of great love as well as great strength. It helped to remember that many other Avatars had been parents and none of them would do anything to hurt the current Avatar's child.

She was very familiar with the love that the Avatar State possessed. It was very rare, but he would occasionally enter the Avatar State while they were making love. This was no different from any other time besides the fact that he would sometimes call her a different name. The ones that she heard most often were Umma and Ta Min, Avatar Kuruk's and Avatar Roku's loves, respectfully.

The Avatar State could hate. It could hate with the bitterness of a thousand lifetimes. But it could love with the tenderness of a thousand lifetimes as well. It was easy to imagine all the past Avatars who had been fathers or mothers reaching out through Aang to help him calm his daughter.

Katara's attention was drawn back to the scene rather than her thoughts when she heard Aang's humming change. He was beginning to sing, but it was not in any language that she had ever heard. As she listened to the unfamiliar words fall from his lips, she began to realize that he was speaking in a language that no mortal could possibly have created.

The words themselves carried no meaning for her, but they seemed to reach inside her. The words were actually invoking feelings within her: feelings of love, comfort, and security as if they opened up the door to the very core of her soul.

It was then that Katara realized two things: the first was that it was some sort of spirit language that Aang was speaking for it to affect her so, and the second was that the song was a lullaby.

The near-magical effect of Aang's lullaby had Kya quieting down and drifting back off to sleep in record time. Still, the song continued for a few more verses before the melody died away. Aang was still swaying softly as the glow in his tattoos faded and he returned to himself.

His swaying came to a slow stop when he realized that Kya was no longer crying. "Whoa… I must've dozed off for a moment there." He whispered to himself, moving back over to the crib and laying his sleeping daughter down.

He turned to head towards the door, but froze when he saw Katara standing there. "Katara? What are you doing up?" He asked.

"I was just checking to make sure that everything was all right." Katara whispered. "But I guess I didn't have to. You had everything under control."

"I suppose." Aang replied. "I don't really remember doing anything to make her sleep."

Katara leaned up and kissed him softly. Aang sighed softly as he returned her kiss. They slowly broke apart and Katara caressed his cheek. "Being with you is enough. You know, Aang, I wouldn't want anyone else to father my children, right?"

"I'm glad that you choose me." Aang whispered.

"I'm glad too." Katara whispered. "Now, come back to bed. We both might as well get some sleep before she wakes up again."

"Of course." Aang whispered, joining Katara as they headed back towards bed.

Kya slept for the rest of the night.

LES: Well, this one was a bit more serious and spiritual than the others. But I still had to write it. Don't worry; the next one will be silly. It's going to be called "Tea Party Gone Wrong". You'll just have to wait and see what that one's about. LOL