Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or the song "I've Been Here Before" from Closer Than Ever by Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire.

Author's Note: I hadn't intended to do this one yet, but the idea just wouldn't let me go. This is partly in response to Justcallmewolfy's question of how Katara felt during "Bato of the Water Tribe," so it's a companion to Chapter 7. Plus I've been wanting to do this song in a fic for a very long time but couldn't find anything to go with it. It doesn't fit perfectly here, but I think it works reasonably well.

I've Been Here Before

The man says things he needs to say,
Turns to smile as he stands at my door.
And then I see his eyes are gray…
Oh, God! I've been here before.

Katara couldn't believe it. She stood there in a state of shock that Aang would keep this kind of information from them, vaguely aware of her brother sputtering angry sentences nearby. Not only would Aang have kept them from finding their father, but he could have stranded Bato for good. She'd never thought Aang capable of something like that.

"Katara, are you with me?" Sokka's voice intruded into Katara's thoughts. She reviewed her memory to find out what he was asking her and hesitated only a moment, looking at Aang with hurt and disappointment before bowing her head.

"I'm with you, Sokka," she said solemnly, turning to join him and Bato. What choice did she have? Sokka had been her brother far longer than Aang had been her friend. If Sokka was going, her place was with him. It would be hard to leave Aang, but at least she could look forward to seeing her dad.

To want him makes no sense at all.
Then we talk, and out his feelings pour.
Inside, all my defenses fall.
Oh, yes, I've been here before.

"You have to understand, I was afraid you'd…" For some reason, it took a little time for these words to penetrate Katara's consciousness, and for her to realize that Aang was going to finish with "leave me." Once she did, she found that she did understand, and she thought she could piece together what had happened. Aang hadn't been in the tent to hear her and Sokka refusing Bato's invitation. The last thing Aang must have heard was how much they'd like to see their father again. If Aang had been offered the opportunity to somehow see Monk Gyatso alive again, wouldn't he have jumped at it? So it really wasn't that surprising that he would expect them to do the same.

Katara found herself wavering. She knew that Aang needed them, and she'd always had a hard time resisting that kind of draw. Besides, the initial shock had worn off, bringing home to her the enormity of what they were doing. Still, her decision had been made, and she didn't feel like she could back out now. Sokka and her father were blood, and that always had to take precedence over someone adopted into their family, even the Avatar. Didn't it?

In any case, Katara couldn't look Aang in the eye as she said goodbye. She wished him luck to let him know she forgave him, and she felt a pang on his behalf when Sokka didn't even speak a word to him. With a mixture of feelings it would probably take her days to sort out, she took off with Sokka and Bato.

The man's all wrong;
That's all that's true.
And what is worse, this time –
Good God! – he's 22.

Katara was uncharacteristically quiet on the journey. An emptiness formed inside of her and seemed to grow with each step. How could someone she'd only met a matter of weeks ago have already become such an integral part of her life? A part of her was suddenly missing, and she was trying to figure out how to deal with that.

Paying no attention to her surroundings as they walked along, Katara reflected that this was the third time she'd been separated from Aang when she'd feared she might not ever see him again. The first was when Sokka had banished him. Then, too, her family had won out, although it was largely because of Aang's insistence that she had stayed behind. The second had been when Aang sacrificed himself to Zuko in order to save their village, spurring Sokka and Katara to go after him.

Katara felt a pang at this. With that act, hadn't they agreed to join their lives with his and accepted him as family? If so, it wasn't right for them to turn their backs on him now. Katara bit her lip and fought back tears. Someone would need an explanation, and she wasn't sure either Sokka or Bato could understand what she was feeling. Her father might, but he was still a long way off.

Katara had to admit that she had just been starting to see Aang a little differently. Ever since Sokka had commented that Aang was a powerful bender, she'd wondered if that had any connection to Aunt Wu's prediction. Was it possible that she was not destined to marry some mysterious stranger in her future but the irrepressible kid she already knew?

Well, they were separated now, so it couldn't be. Surely, there were a lot of powerful – make that very powerful – benders out there, and she was young. Maybe it was better this way, leaving her free for whatever came ahead. She was trying to look at the bright side, but she didn't think it had ever been harder.

Sense it's wrong before we start;

Why should I rush to prove
That I can break my heart all over?

Katara kept coming back to the idea that Aang had betrayed them, still trying to wrap her mind around it. Granted, he had lied to them before, but only when he didn't understand how much was at stake. This time, he knew full well what he was doing. Was she destined to always be betrayed by men she trusted? First Jet, and now…

Hold on, murmured a voice in her mind. Did you just compare Jet with Aang?

Well, yes, she admitted silently. I was wrong about both of them, wasn't I?

Let's just think about that. Jet tried to drown an entire village. What did Aang do?

He lied to us, hid the map that would have taken us to our father.

Do you really think the crimes are equivalent? Katara frowned. What Aang had done was dishonest and wrong, but he hadn't actually put anyone in danger. Besides, when had Aang received that map? Last night? He couldn't have kept it from them for more than about twelve hours. Belatedly, she realized that he couldn't stand it any longer.

He betrayed our trust, she insisted desperately, but she knew that she was losing this argument. She was just trying to assuage her own guilt, and knowing that was only making her feel worse.

And I suppose you've never made a mistake, the voice countered sardonically. The memories came to mind unbidden: stealing a waterbending scroll, yelling at Aang when he caught on to waterbending faster than she did, and getting him and Sokka captured because she was so competitive that she was stupidly and loudly practicing alone. Inwardly, Katara winced. That had all been in the course of a day.

Okay, so neither of us is perfect, she conceded. Maybe she and Sokka had overreacted a little. So where did that leave her?

The man leaves, and I'm on my own.
I sit here and simply watch the door
And tell myself I'm fine alone.

Although Katara was now almost sure that they should turn back, it seemed too late. Sokka tended to be stubborn once he'd chosen a plan of action, and unless he changed his mind, Katara was stuck with him. She felt helpless, so she was only too eager to agree when Sokka first broached the idea that they'd made a mistake and needed to go back and see if they could catch up with Aang. After all, two wrongs didn't make a right.

Unfortunately, Zuko found them before they found Aang. Katara felt a surge of excitement and happiness when Aang came in on his glider, surprising Zuko and the creature he was using to track the Avatar. Of course, she got dumped off onto the ground, but Katara watched as much of the intense battle as her paralysis would allow. When their little group reunited, she knew it felt right, and when Aang returned her mother's necklace, Katara was far more delighted than she would have expected to have an excuse to kiss him. Settling back into her seat, she decided to let destiny take care of itself; she was going to live in the present.

Oh yes, I've been here before.
Oh yes, I've been here before.

--

Member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129, Strix Moonwing, Avatarwolf, MormonMaiden, libowiekitty, Snows of Yester-Year, La Vixen de Amor, chocolatecoveredbananacheese, Aangy, and honorary member SnakeEyes16

Author's Note: So there it is, my sense of Katara's point of view that episode. She did seem quite sad to leave Aang, so I guess I sort of took that and ran with it. Even though the song is pretty cynical, I couldn't help but put an optimistic spin on the ending. I'm probably going to spend much of the week working on the next chapter of Destiny's Call, so don't expect another update to this collection for a while. Thanks!

Review responses:

Vanille Strawberry: Hm. To me, it's not Kyoshi or Roku riding the fish that's funny as much as picturing them in their underwear to do it.

Snows Of Yester-Year: Well, you really have libowiekitty to thank for the song choice. I just picked when to make the scene occur.

Let's Just Say I Loath It All: Actually, it was mostly disturbing to imagine Katara and Zuko singing karaoke to those songs (that was the premise of the story). I'm pretty much a musical geek, too. A good chunk of my CD collection is Broadway recordings.

Aangs fangirl1214: Well, whenever you get around to it. Yes, I'm inclined to believe that the nations weren't always separated out, although the legends of how people became benders almost seemed to imply that they had divided themselves that early. Anyway, it would have taken time for their traditions to develop to the point they are presently.

libowiekitty: I bet you're looking forward to that, and I wish you a good trip! I saw a touring production of The Lion King a year or so ago, and it was very impressive.