Life, Love and Happiness Ch 29

Before everyone knew it, it was time for the big wedding.  Everyone at the Eastern Air Temple was invited.  The ceremony itself was beautiful with both airbenders committing themselves for their entire lives to each other.  Meifeng wore a formal dress of pale yellow that was made by the seamstress who had recently come to the Eastern Air Temple from Qi Cun.  Kochi was dressed in regal robes of green and yellow, denoting his culture of both air and earth.  

Youfeng and Deshi both beamed at their children who stood before everyone exchanging vows and kisses.  Both of the mothers, Min and Haruko, held tissues to wipe their crying eyes.

The big celebration was held in the ornately decorated dining area.  Despite the formal ceremony earlier, there wasn't a bit of formality at the party afterwards.  Haruko had headed up the food for the occasion and everyone complimented its fantastic flavor.  

After eating, everyone danced.  Aang even stepped in for a number or two, but left Katara sitting to the side because of her late-term pregnancy.  The only dancing she was willing to engage in was the slow sort.  

Katara and Aang slowly moved from side-to-side.  "Are you excited about the new one?" Katara asked lowly so only Aang could hear her.  

"Absolutely," said Aang.  "Aria brings me nothing but joy and I'm sure the same will be the said for this little one.  What do you think it is?"

"I think it is another little girl," Katara replied, touching her belly.  "This time feels just like last time, so I'll go out on a limb and say 'girl'."

"Nope, it's a boy," replied Aang.

"How would you know?" asked Katara.

"Call it intuition," replied Aang.

"I thought only women had good intuition," said Katara.

"I guess we'll see then, won't we," Aang chuckled.

Just then Aang noticed a girl run away from the dance floor.  It sounded like she was crying.  

"I wonder what's going on?" asked Katara.

"That was Tiandi," said Aang.  "The visitors are leaving tomorrow.  Looks like she is upset."

"Aw, poor girl.  I know I wouldn't want to be away from you for any period of time," said Katara.

"Those two have really gotten close in the last few weeks.  I wonder how serious it really is," answered Aang.  

Tengfei had attempted to follow Tiandi away from the party, but he soon reappeared where he had run off.  

"Hold on, Katara.  I'd better go see what's going on," said Aang.  He stopped dancing with Katara and walked over to where the young airbender now sat.

"You look miserable," said Aang to Tengfei.

"I feel miserable," Tengfei replied.  

"Are you ok?" Aang asked.

"I'll be fine," answered Tengfei.  "That was a bit embarrassing though.  Everyone saw what happened."

"Don't worry about everyone else – just worry about Tiandi and yourself," said Aang.  

Tengfei half-heartedly nodded.

"She's leaving tomorrow," said Aang.  "I assume it she is not taking it well?"

"No, not really," said Tengfei.  "I'm going to miss her – a lot.  But I'd rather be together right now rather than be apart."

"It's just her way of coping," replied Aang.  "It hurts to be around you right now when she doesn't know when she'll see you again."

"I can't blame her, I guess," said Tengfei.

"I have an idea.  She's here on a visit with friends, right?" asked Aang.

Tengfei nodded.

"Why don't you go visit her with some of your friends?" asked Aang.

"But what about training?" asked Tengfei.  

"Tengfei, I know what I've said in the past about priorities.  But in this case, I think a small break wouldn't do much damage," said Aang.

Tengfei's eyes lit up.  "Really?"

"Really," said Aang.  "I'll speak with Youfeng myself."

"I've got to go tell her," he said as he leapt from his seat.  

"Maybe she will want to spend more time with you now that she knows she'll see you in only a month or two."

Tengfei turned back to his master and bowed his thank you.  Then he turned back and sprinted away from the party once again.  

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Katara sat on a bench watching Aang train in his private area.  She was now very close to having the baby and did not want to push it by doing any training herself.  

"Aang!?" said a voice from the edge of the area.  

"Yes, Deshi," Aang said back at the man who was calling for him.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but we have visitors," Deshi answered.

"Visitors?" Aang turned and asked looking at Katara.  She shrugged.  

From behind Deshi emerged two figures.

"Sokka!  Suki!" Katara shouted.  

"I told you we might come a little early," Suki replied.  

Aang could clearly see that both Sokka and Suki were carrying children as they got closer.  

Suki sat next to Katara when she finally reached her.  "This is Pizi," said Suki introducing her and Sokka's daughter.  

"Oh she's adorable, Suki," said Katara.  "Can I hold her?"

"Sure," Suki said as she handed over the baby.  

Sokka set Kanoro down on the ground so he could talk to Aang without a squirming boy in his hands.  Kanoro wobbled off.

"He's walking already?" asked Aang.

"Sure is – and he's getting into everything, too," said Sokka.  

"Yeah, they'll do that at this age.  How old is he again?" asked Aang.

"Almost a year and a half," answered Sokka.  

"Have you guys gotten settled in yet?" asked Katara.

"No, we pretty much wanted to see you first," answered Sokka.  "We brought some stuff with us on the transport balloon that we still need to get."

"Let's get you settled in then," said Aang.

The group of friends went back to the common areas, unloaded the transport balloon, and got Sokka and Suki set-up with a place to stay in the temple.  They agreed to meet again when dinner was served in the dining area.  Haruko gladly took both Kanoro and Pizi from Sokka and Suki so they would have time to sit and talk with Aang and Katara.  Haruko was Aria's main caretaker as well, so Aang knew his niece and nephew would be in good hands.  

The four friends huddled around a campfire and relaxed away the evening.

"The stars sure are beautiful here," said Suki.  "I wonder why they look so different than at the south pole."

"I think each place has its own charms.  The sky is one of my favorite things about the Eastern Air Temple," added Katara.

"I could get used to this place," said Suki.

"Are you sure it's not just because it's warm here?" said Sokka a bit sarcastically.

Suki giggled.  "Well, there is that."

"Oh," exclaimed Katara as she placed her hand on her stomach.  

"Are you alright?" asked Aang.

"Just fine.  The baby kicked – hard," she said.  

"You've got what?  A week to go?" asked Suki.  

"About that," said Katara.  "Frankly, I can't wait until he or she is out."

"Believe me, I know the feeling," said Suki.  

"So who else is coming to this get-together in a couple of weeks?" asked Sokka.

"I think we've heard from just about everyone and they are all coming," said Aang.  "Toph, Zuko, Azula, Mai…," said Aang.

Sokka smirked a bit.  "It's still hard for me to believe Azula and Mai are considered part of our little group."

Katara let out a grunt and bent over.  

"Again?" asked Aang.

"Uh-huh," she replied.  "I-I'm ok."

"If you say so," said Sokka.  

"How about Ty Lee?" asked Suki.

"She said she was planning on it," answered Aang.

"I really want to see her.  It's been so long since I visited Kyoshi Island.  I want to hear all of the most recent news from the girls.  You can only get so much from a scroll," said Suki.  

Katara now groaned.

"Ok, we're going back to your place," said Suki.  

"Yes, I think that is a good idea," agreed Katara.  "Aang, you and Sokka can stay here for a bit longer if you want."

"You're kidding, right?" asked Aang.

"Actually no, but based on Aria, if this is the start of labor, it could take a day or more," answered Katara.

"C'mon Katara…let's go," said Suki.  

The two women left the area and went back to Aang and Katara's home.  

Sokka looked at Aang.  "You're not actually staying, are you?"

"No!" Aang replied and jabbed him in the shoulder.  "But we can't just leave this fire going…"

"Good point," replied Sokka.  

Katara and Suki arrived back upstairs in the temple.  "I'm so glad you're here," said Katara.  "Not that it wasn't a special time last time with just Aang and I, but now I have Sokka and you here, too."

"Will Haruko mind watching Kanoro and Pizi while we're here?" asked Suki.

"No, she loves the kids.  Though I doubt she can feed Pizi for you," laughed Katara.

"True," said Suki.  "I guess there will be a few times I'll have to leave you then."

"I think I can forgive you," said Katara.  

Katara changed into something more comfortable while Suki changed the sheets on the bed into something more fitting for the birth.  Aang and Sokka walked in shortly thereafter.  Sokka took a seat in the corner of the room and tried to lighten the mood while Suki was Katara's direct attendant, retrieving anything Katara would need.  Aang immediately went into healer mode and not only checked Katara's progress but also tried to suppress her pain as much as possible.

Katara progressed much faster this time around and it was about dawn when she finally felt the urge to push.  Since she had been up all night, she was exhausted.

"Just a little bit longer," encouraged Suki.  "It'll be all over and you'll have a new son or daughter in your arms."

Aang quickly checked his wife one last time.  "It's only one or two more pushes," he told her.

"The head is crowing," said Suki.  

Katara's face went from desperation to determination having heard the last two sentences.  She beared down and gave it her all.  

"Quick Aang, get the baby," said Suki.

Aang quickly inserted himself at the end of the bed between Katara's legs.  Katara gave one last  huge push and suddenly a baby boy appeared on the bed.  Aang reached down to grab the boy and placed him on top of Katara's stomach.  Both he and Katara now had tears streaming down their faces.  

Suki cleaned up the boy in a few towels that were there.  Aang cut through the umbilical cord.  He walked up next to Katara's face and the two shared a sweet kiss.  

"What should we name him?" asked Katara.

"His name is Tenzin," replied Aang.  

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60 months ASC

It was one-and-a-half weeks later when the remaining visitors arrived at the Eastern Air Temple.  It was a joyous time for one and all – one of the few times they would all be in one place at one time.  All the children – both babies and toddlers - were fawned over by the friends.  The next generation had definitely started to take shape.  

It was at dinner one evening when Zuko and Mai made a significant announcement.

"We're expecting!" Mai shouted.  "I'm three months along."

Yet another little one to add to the bunch, thought Aang.  He sat back and happily thought about what life was like just a few years ago when they all fought side-by-side against the threat to the entire world.  They didn't know if they would survive or not let alone become such good friends.  Now look at where they were…

He and Katara had two children.

Sokka and Suki had two children.

Zuko and Mai had one child and another on the way.  

Toph was romantically involved which Aang expected would lead to marriage and children.  

And the next generation of airbenders had already been born.  

Aang was content.  The future looked bright for the world.

Epilogue

Aang and Katara remained at the Eastern Air Temple for the remainder of their lives raising their four children.  All four would end up being airbenders despite Katara's wish for at least one waterbender in the mix.  

The number of airbenders born in the years after the war increased immensely.  Probability had it that as the bloodlines were diluted, less airbenders would be born.  However, that did not come to pass.  Aang's theory was that living back in the air temples in a spiritual setting increased the chance that a baby would be an airbender so long as the parents were living at the temple and had some airbender blood in their veins.  

Sokka remained as Chief of the Southern Water Tribe for the next 50 years.  Suki was by his side the entire time.  He was succeeded by his only son, Kanoro.  Kanoro did not develop any bending abilities whereas Pizi did become a waterbender.

Kirima and Hakoda had a baby boy which they named Okena.  Although it was nearly impossible for Katara to really get to know Okena very well, Sokka was close with the boy and treated him as one of his own.  Kanoro and Okena became the the best of friends.

Tengfei did visit Tiandi in the Northern Air Temple two months after she left.  Before Tengfei left the Northern Air Temple, he asked Tiandi to marry him and she accepted.  They decided to marry immediately following Tengfei receiving his arrows and ultimately live at the Northern Air Temple.  They would have three kids of their own, all of which were airbenders.  Tengfei and Tiandi's family essentially was the seed that reintroduced airbenders back to the Northern Air Temple.

Kochi and Meifeng lived at the Eastern Air Temple for a few years after the birth of their daughter Kerenina.  They would go on to have three other children, also all airbenders.  Meifeng, Kochi, and Tengfei all received their arrows four months after Meifeng gave birth.  Kochi became the new tattooing master after a short apprenticeship with Shen of the Yu Yan archers.

Meifeng, Kochi, Youfeng, Min and their entire family moved to the Southern Air Temple 10 years after the war ended.  There was not only a desire to investigate the temple further (Min and her historian/educational urges), restore the temple (Meifeng and Youfeng), and get airbenders back into the Southern Air Temple.  

Mai soon gave birth to a second daughter named Kazani.  She and Zuko end up having a total of three children – two daughters and a son, all firebenders.  Zuko reverses the tradition that sons should ascend to the throne before daughters and Daja ends up being his successor.

Azula makes a career out of the Fire Nation military.  She is known for riding her dragon when on patrol and when she travels.  She marries Shoji.  They do not have any children.

Suwan and Kanpu do eventually get their tattoos, though it is much later than the other four airbenders who had started their training at the same time.  Both of their families remain at the Eastern Air Temple.   

The next generation of airbenders, including Aria and Suwan's daughter Shaila, begin training when they are approximately five years old.  

Toph and The Duke finally get married and have two children of their own.  They both remain in Omashu for the remainder of their days.  

Just as Aunt Wu had predicted at Aang and Katara's wedding, Aang's time as avatar was a time of peace.  The scars from the war healed and a new era of understanding and cooperation came to be.  Aang would die in his 70's, much younger than many of the avatars of the past.  However, he left a legacy that would be one of the greatest among any avatar that had ever lived.