Epilogue

"What is honor compared to a woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms…or the memory of a brother's smile? Wind and words. Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy."

Sokka had lost track of time. He gripped Katara's hand tightly in his. Eyes closed, Katara's expression was calm and peaceful. She was no longer in pain. Sokka realized that she had been holding rose petals in her other hand, but now they had slipped out of her hand and onto the bloody bed. The rose petals were dead and black, but Sokka knew that they had previously been blue.

Sangok entered the room and found a heartbroken Sokka, who hadn't moved from his position. Eventually, Sangok gently separated his hand from Katara's. Filled with grief, Sokka broke down in tears.

He couldn't remember what happened afterwards.

When Suki heard that Sokka was finally returning to the Southern Water Tribe, she was elated. He had been away for far too long, and Suki had missed him dearly. She was eager and excited to introduce him to their newborn son, Hakone.

Suki and the people of the Southern Water Tribe watched as Sokka's ship approached. Suki smiled as she saw Sokka descend down the ship's ramp. But as her husband approached her, Suki noticed that he was holding a baby in his arms.

Suki's smile faded. Why was Sokka was holding another woman's child in his arms? All eyes were on Sokka and the baby. If the baby was just a random child, a servant would be holding him instead.

Everyone came to the same assumption: Sokka was the father of this child.

Her face ashen, Suki turned and walked away. She heard Sokka calling after her, but she couldn't face him at the moment. She felt betrayed, shocked, and angry. Everyone had said that Sokka was different from other men. They had said that he was the most honorable man in all of the four nations. Suki felt like an idiot for believing them.

When Jet heard about Katara, he rushed to the Southern Water Tribe. The moment he saw her casket, the king of the four nations fell to his knees, sobbing.

Sokka had never seen Jet like this. He gently placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder as he wept uncontrollably.

From that day onward, Jet and Sokka's friendship was restored.

As the years passed, Sokka was kept busy as the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. His relationship with Suki got better as Sokka showered her with love and affection. They fell more in love with each other each day, and they had several more children together.

Sokka raised Zuko and Katara's son as his own. He decided not to call him Jaeku, since people might become suspicious of the Fire Nation name. Sokka called him Kai, which he thought was a common name, especially in the Earth Kingdom. Many people assumed that Kai's mother was a whore who Sokka had met at a brothel. Others thought that his mother was a noblewoman that Sokka secretly had an affair with. The only people who knew Kai's true identity were Sokka, Sangok, and the midwife. They had all sworn to never tell anyone else. Sangok eventually moved to the Northern Water Tribe and the midwife moved to a small town in the Earth Kingdom. It pained Sokka to be unable to tell Suki the truth, but every time he looked at Kai, he remembered his sister and his promise to her. It gave him strength and the determination to protect the boy no matter what.

To Sokka's immense relief, Kai looked more like his mother than his father. But his skin was lighter and his hair was several shades darker, almost black. And sometimes when Sokka looked closely, he noticed tiny flecks of gold in Kai's sapphire blue eyes. Sokka prayed that no one else would notice.

Suki did not hide her dislike for Kai. From Suki's point of view, her family would be perfect if not for Kai. On the other hand, most of Sokka and Suki's children got along well with Kai. Hakone, their eldest son, and Ava, their youngest daughter, were especially close with Kai. But their eldest daughter, Kyra, who was close with Suki, treated Kai a bit coldly. Sometimes Sokka would see Kai brooding in the corner while the rest of the kids played together. There were a lot of people other than Suki and Kyra who looked down on Kai for being an illegitimate child. Because of this, Kai became a bit of a loner.

Sokka tried his best to make Kai not feel isolated from the rest of the family. He constantly encouraged and supported the boy in all of his interests. Kai liked reading, swordsmanship, and waterbending—when he was three years old they discovered that he was a waterbender. The revelation almost made Sokka pass out from relief. If Kai had been a firebender, it would have caused Sokka a lot of trouble.

Seventeen years had passed since the start of Jet's rebellion. Jet, the ruler of the four nations, was liked by people from the Earth Kingdom, but not so much by the people from the other nations. He was known for being brash, vulgar, and drinking way more than he should. After Katara's death, he didn't want to ever get married. But Piandao and his advisors had pressured him and told him that he needed an heir. Eventually, Jet got married to a noblewoman and had three children with her. It was a loveless marriage.

Jet came to visit the Southern Water Tribe, bringing his wife, children, and many soldiers with him. The first thing he did was immediately visit Katara's grave, which was in the underground crypts. She was buried next to her parents, and a statue of her marked where she lay.

Jet stared at Katara's statue. He reached up and touched her cheek, gently as if he were touching living flesh instead of stone. Sokka stood next to him silently.

"This statue doesn't even look like her." Jet said gruffly. "She was way more beautiful than this. Damn it, Sokka, did you have to bury her in a place like this? She deserved more than darkness…"

"It's tradition. I thought it fitting that she's next to our parents." Sokka replied quietly.

Jet sighed. "She would have been the most beautiful queen. I needed her, Sokka. I miss her every day." He paused and continued after a moment. "Her beauty will be talked about for centuries. I'll make sure of it."

"…You saw her beauty, Jet, but not the iron underneath." You never knew Katara as I did. Sokka thought.

They stood in silence for a few moments.

"I vowed to kill Zuko for what he did to her." Jet spoke, not taking his eyes off Katara's statue.

"You did." Sokka reminded him.

"I don't know why but it's not enough. In my dreams, I kill him every night, but it's never enough." Jet admitted. His expression grew cold. "A thousand deaths will still be less than he deserves."

Sokka didn't think about Zuko too often. There was too much that he didn't know about him. But he knew that Zuko was valiant, noble, and honorable. And he knew that Katara loved him.

"Zuko…Zuko won, damn him. I killed him and he died at my feet. Yet somehow he still won. He has Katara now, and I have…" Jet stopped. "I need a drink. Many drinks."

The two men went to one of the courtyards and sat at a table, where they were served food and wine. Hakone and Kai were sparring with swords in the center of the courtyard.

Jet glanced at Kai and Hakone. "They've grown up. They're not half bad with swords, though we were better in our prime."

Sokka smiled. "What do you mean? I'm still in my prime. You, on the other hand…"

Jet chugged a glass of wine. "There's no need to win tournaments nowadays. I've won all the important ones long ago." He continued to watch the boys spar, noticing Kai especially. "…What was the name of your bastard's mother? You've told me once, but I forgot. Was it Elma? No, Meili?"

Sokka looked away uncomfortably. "Yuki."

"Ah, that was it." Jet grinned. "She must have been a rare wench to make the great Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe forget his honor. You never told me what she looked like."

"Nor will I." Sokka replied.

Jet studied his friend's solemn expression. "We were at war. None of us knew if we would ever return home. You're too hard on yourself. You always have been."

Sokka didn't say anything.

Seeing that Sokka was feeling uncomfortable, Jet changed the subject. "Anyway, I received some news from spies that I sent to explore the western lands." He handed Sokka a piece of paper.

Sokka scanned the paper. "So…the former princess Azula has been making allies in the west. She has a daughter who's a few years younger than my eldest son. This daughter will marry a powerful general when she turns sixteen, and will have an army at her disposal." Sokka glanced at Jet. "What of it? Should we send her a wedding gift?" He rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

Jet snorted. "A knife, perhaps. A good sharp one, and a bold man to wield it."

"She's a child, Jet. Let's not speak of this." Sokka said.

"Oh it's unspeakable to you?" Jet huffed. "What her grandfather did to your family, that was unspeakable! What Zuko did to your sister…the woman I loved!" Jet continued, "I'm going to put an end to them. I will kill every single member of that Fire Nation Royal Family that I can get my hands on, and then I'll piss on their graves."

"You can't get your hands on this one, can you?" Sokka said quietly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Kai and Hakone were taking a break, drinking some water and laughing together.

Jet scowled. "There's going to be a war when that child gathers her army. I heard that there's a hundred thousand soldiers she'll be in charge of."

"They don't have enough ships, Jet." Sokka told him. "That's why the people from the western lands have never invaded the four nations."

Jet didn't look convinced. "A war is coming, Sokka. I don't know when, but it will. I want to be prepared for it."

He may be right, Sokka thought. He watched Kai again, who was smiling as Hakone's youngest sister Ava joined the boys. His smile was a lot like Katara's. His demeanor and swordfighting talent were like Zuko's.

The rightful heir to the throne. The sun shone brightly overhead in the clear sky. Sokka kept his eyes on the boy. I'll protect him, Katara.

I promise.

The End

Author's Note: I picture Jaeku/Kai as a kid with dark wavy hair, blue eyes, and skin slightly lighter than Katara's. (He definitely does not look like the Kai in Korra; they have the same name but there's no relation. I just liked the name Kai.) He's also a firebender as well as a waterbender, but no one has found that out yet.

I was considering keeping Katara and Zuko secretly alive. They could have been healed by spirit oasis water (avatar season 2 finale reference). If they were alive, they would go into hiding, because with Jet as ruler Zuko would be in danger if he revealed himself. It would also disrupt the peace, since the war ended after Jet and Sokka won. Kai would still be raised by Sokka, since Katara and Zuko would want him to live a normal life. But they would watch him from afar. They would also let Sokka and Iroh, the two people they trusted most, know that they were alive.

Zutara forever :)