Despite his friend's insistence, Aang remained by Katara's side as she rested in her room. Kano had managed to heal Katara's wound but she had yet to rise out of her unconscious state. After risking her life for him, Aang did not have it in him to leave her alone.

Hours passed and the day was over. He looked out the window to see Yue shining brightly in the dark sky. Watching over Katara, Aang thought of the rage he felt at the sight of Aizo and then the feeling of devastation at the thought of losing Katara.

He had pushed her away for his sake but the thought of never seeing her again had been too much for him to handle. Pushing him to the brink of breaking an air nomad vow. All life is sacred. It was not the first time he'd been close to breaking it. Had Katara not stopped him then Aang wouldn't have held back against the sand benders. Had it not been for her and his friends then he would have beat Aizo to death with his bare hands.

If Katara died then Aang didn't know what he would do then. Thankfully, he did not have to. He wondered if this was how Katara felt when he left her and their friends in the Fire Nation. Aang knew that leaving would hurt her but it didn't hit him just how much until he thought he had lost her forever.

"You know that you don't need to stay here right? For an air bender you can be pretty stubborn" Kano commented as she entered the room with a rice bowl.

"Well, I'm an earth bender too", Aang shrugged, "comes with the territory of being the avatar."

"Take this", Kano passed him the bowl, "You should at least eat if you're not going to leave."

He took the bowl without question and found basmati rice with mixed vegetables. Truth be told, he hadn't thought much of his stomach since his mind was clouded over the events that had transpired since their arrival at Renu village. Kano looked over Katara's wound, checking for anything out of the ordinary. Satisfied, she pulled the cover over the unconscious water bender to keep her warm.

"She really is amazing", Kano remarked, "I don't think I could have reacted as quickly as she did."

"Yeah", Aang muttered, "she shouldn't have had to do so in the first place."

"I'm willing to bet she would disagree. She also wouldn't want you blaming yourself."

Aang said nothing in return. He knew that she was right.

"Goes to show how much you mean to her", Kano continued, "Although I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that."

Again, Kano was right, and he had nothing to say.

"She knows you well too…and cares a lot about you," Kano continued, "even after getting impaled this girl was still worried about you."

Aang glanced up, "Did she say anything?"

"She didn't want you to kill Aizo. Not for his sake but more for yours. She knew what killing him would have done to you."

Aang looked to Katara again. It amazed him just how far she would go for him. It made him wonder if he deserved her at all.

"She loves you Aang," Kano stated.

"…she really does." Aang said in return.

The next morning, Katara slowly opened her eyes. She glanced up to see Aang sleeping on the chair next to her bed. She pushed herself to sit up and winced as she felt the sting from her wound. She looked down to see the wrap over her wound and remembered the impact she felt.

'Kano healed me…I could have died.'

She pulled the covers off and swept her feet over the edge, giggling as she noticed the small drool hanging from Aang's mouth. With her good arm, Katara nudged him from his slumber.

The air bender wearily opened his eyes to see who had disturbed his slumber. When he saw Katara awake and smiling at him, Aang jumped to his feet and wrapped his arms around her.

"You're awake!"

"I am," Katara smiled as she wrapped her good arm around him. He shivered in her arms, trying to keep himself from crying. For a moment neither said anything until Aang pulled back. Katara noticed the bags under his eyes and saw how red his eyes were.

"How long have you been here?"

"S-since yesterday…I didn't want you to be alone when you woke up," Aang answered.

"Thanks for staying with me," Katara smiled softly.

"Don't thank me Katara…none of this would have happened if I hadn't stopped to look for him after the cave went down," Aang replied.

"Aang you don't know that."

"Yes, I Do!" Aang stood to his feet. "You shouldn't have had to put your life on the line like that for me!"

"Aang listen to me," the water bender grabbed his hand, "None of this is your fault. Whether it's Aizo or some other fire nation nutjob…protecting you will always come first for me. I didn't have any other choice but to push you out of the way!"

Aang shook his hand from her grasp.

"Katara I don't want you to risk your life for me!", Aang cried out, "Just think of how your family would react if you had died! Your father, your gran-gran, SOKKA! Your family would have been devastated!"

"You're my family too Aang!" Katara stood up from the bed, "You are the Avatar! The last air bender in the world! The world can't afford to lose you even if the war is over. We all need you alive…I need you alive. You're my best friend. I would rather die than live in a world that doesn't have you in it!"

Aang turned away with his fist clenched. Over and over his fingers clenched in and out.

"I-I can't lose anyone else Katara…I've already lost too much. I d-don't want to lose you as well. I can't lose you."

Katara watched Aang's shoulder shivering. Her anger with him dissipated. It felt stupid getting so upset after just waking up. Already tired from standing up so quickly, she sat back down on the bed and grabbed the air bender's hand once more.

"Aang, sit with me"

Aang let her pull him down next to her. His gaze remained on the floor as Katara wrapped her arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. Slowly, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. The gesture made the water bender smile.

"I won't apologize for doing what I had to do…but I am sorry for scaring you like that. Spirits, these past couple of days have been something haven't they?"

"Yeah, it's been so tiring and stressful."

Katara cringed to herself as she thought of how it was only the day before that she and Kano had their fight. Leading to Aang finding out about their wager over his heart.

"How do you feel?" Aang asked, "Your wound and all…"

"It stings but I'll be fine. Kano knows her stuff on healing I guess."

Aang nodded. They sat in silence for a little while.

"What happened with Aizo?"

"He's in a cell now", Aang stated. "I…I was going to kill him. I wanted to kill him."

Katara pulled her head back to look at him, "I'm glad you didn't."

"Kano told me what you said to her", Aang turned to her, "I don't know if I would have been the same had I done it. I'm thankful Suki, Toph, and Sokka talked me down."

"I know how much your culture means to you Aang. I don't want anyone to take your beliefs away from you."

"Thank you, Katara…for everything that you've done for me. I don't think I would have gotten this far as the Avatar if I didn't have you by my side."

"I can't take all the credit", Katara smiled, "You've also helped me become the person I am. Despite that…I still ended up hurting you." Her smile dropped as she placed her hand on Aang's chest, over his heart.

"Katara what happened…we don't need to go over it again. We've hurt each other enough over it. We don't have to carry it with us."

"How can I not carry it with me Aang?" Katara blurted out as tears formed, "I hurt you so bad that you had to leave. You had to get away from me because I was hurting you so much."

Aang turned his body to her and pulled Katara's hand from his chest, holding it in his, "The best thing we can do is move forward. I almost lost you. I don't want to think about losing you again. I can't stomach the thought of it."

"Okay." Katara rested her head back on Aang's shoulder.

"Just…promise me that you won't risk your life like that again?"

Katara shook her head, "Aang I can't make that promise. In the end, I will always choose to protect you in any way that I can. But I can promise that I will always be by your side."

Aang let out a deep sigh, "…why? Why go that far for me?"

"Do you really need me to say it?' Katara chuckled, "You already know.

He did. It didn't make him feel any better. It only made him feel guilty. Katara had poured out her feelings and he was still hesitant. A part of him wanted to accept Katara, but the other was still in fear of what could happen. Instead, Aang closed his eyes and dropped his head.

"You already do so much for me Katara. This matter between us…I-I-" He couldn't come up with the words. His mind was a jumbled mess trying to put his feelings into words. He tried to think until he felt a pair of hands cupping his face. He opened his eyes to see Katara smiling softly.

"It's okay Aang. You said you needed time right? Take as long as you need. Don't rush just for my sake."

"It could be a long time."

"I'll wait for as long as you need."

He gazed at her and finally nodded. Aang pulled her close for another hug to which Katara happily accepted. Despite what happened, they were both going to be okay. That was enough for both of them at that moment.

After a day of resting up, the gang decided that it was time to leave. Katara's injury was healed enough for them to return to Ba Sing Se. King Kuei ordered his troops to arrive at the village to pick up Aizo and his foot soldiers who participated in the kidnappings. They would all be transferred to a heavily guarded prison within the Earth kingdom.

Team Avatar could not wait to get back to Ba Sing Se. However, one person chose to stay behind.

"Are you sure you don't want to come back with us?" Aang asked.

"It's fine Aang", Kano answered. "I think that this would be for the best for us since well you know…"

"I know that I was angry and upset after what happened, but I don't want you to think that I hate you for it, Kano. I still consider you my friend", Aang responded.

"I know you don't hate me. I'm going to need the space to do some self-reflecting and I would like to spend time with Ino again. Spending time with her helps. Please give this scroll to Suna and Sato when you see them. They can know to come here after they complete their training with Toph," Kano passed a scroll to Aang.

"If you say so. Just as long as you promise that this won't be the last time that I see you." Aang grinned.

"Don't worry Aang. We'll see each other again," Kano confirmed as she hugged Aang. He hugged her back. From the corner of her eye, Kano noticed Katara watching them and a smile crept on her. Pulling her head back, Kano kissed Aang's cheek. Katara narrowed her eyes as she silently fumed. Sokka, Toph, and Suki watching the show and giggling from the top of Appa's saddle.

Finally, Kano let go of a flustered Aang and walked toward Katara.

"Sorry you had to see that," Kano said with a smug grin.

"No, you're not" Katara grinned back.

Kano shrugged and laughed, "yeah I'm not."

"Thank you for what you did," Katara said as she rubbed her hand over her chest where the arrow used to be.

"No sweat," Kano said and hugged Katara. The gesture surprised her for a moment until Katara wrapped her arms around Kano.

"Between you and me…" Kano whispered in Katara's ear, "I think it's pretty obvious who the true winner was."

"Don't be too sure. Aang hasn't given either of us an answer," Katara whispered back.

"As much as I'd hate to admit it, I lost in the end. I don't believe I can come close to you in his eyes if I am being honest. No one loves him like you do Katara."

"…I don't know what to say," Katara replied. She hadn't expected this from the other water bender. There had been moments when she thought that Kano would win. She never would have expected this outcome.

"It's okay", Kano gave a gentle squeeze, "Although I do have a request if you will hear me out."

"What is it?"

"In case you and Aang ever need a third party in the bedroom, I wanna be the first person you reach out to," Kano smirked.

"Huh?!"

Before Katara could say more, Kano pressed her lips against her cheek. Katara's eyes widened as her face reddened.

After letting go of each other, Kano laughed as she pulled back and caught Katara's flustered expression.

"Tua and La Katara you are so cute."

Katara pouted as the other girl laughed again. After gathering on Appa, the gang bid farewell to the people of Renu village.

"Yip Yip!" Appa rose to the sky as they all waved at Kano and Ino. They all finally relaxed as Aang guided the bison to their destination.

"Well there goes another great adventure," Sokka remarked.

"No kidding. I'm so glad we're done with Aizo," Suki rested her head on his shoulder.

"I could go for another adventure," Toph stated.

"Maybe after I don't feel so sore anymore, we can go somewhere," Katara answered and massaged her wound.

"No reason we can't go traveling for a while. The world is huge after all," Aang called out from Appa's head.

"As long as we're all together then that's fine by me," Katara smiled.

"Always," Aang smiled back.

"By the way Katara", Sokka spoke up, "What did Kano say to you before we left?"

For the second time, Katara's face flustered as she remembered Kano's request.

"Nothing!"

Almost at the end folks!