Thank you for the reviews! They make me oh-so-happy!

So sorry for the delay for this last update! Endings are so difficult to write... I'm not overly thrilled with how I ended this, but it's the best I've got.

Enjoy the fourth and final chapter!

Katara stood with her hands on the edge of the counter, eyes closed, deliberately breathing slow and deep. The water in the tea kettle was already boiling, but she needed a moment to gather herself. The evening had been much more emotionally jarring than she ever would have anticipated.

After verifying that Bumi and Tenzin were alright, Katara spent the next hour pacing their living room, constantly debating whether it was justifiable to leave the boys alone while she looked for Aang and Kya. The answer was always no. Aang was mostly likely out looking for Kya, and she trusted him to make sure that she was safe.

Of course, her anxiety only spiked when they finally did return home. Kya looked dead on her feet, a faint bruise on her cheek, and a thick blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and Aang looked as though he hadn't slept in a month.

The fact that Toph was with them was no help to Katara's nerves.

Realizing that she had been standing there for an inordinate amount of time, Katara grabbed the kettle and poured the hot water into the teacup. Picking it up with a towel, she quickly walked up to Kya's room.

Kya was sitting at the head of her bed, legs curled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees. She was staring blankly out her window at the moonlit water.

"Kya?" Katara said softly.

Kya flinched and snapped her head around. She relaxed minutely when she saw it was her mother, but her body was still tense. Thanks to Katara's waterbending, the bruise on her cheek was gone. Unfortunately, there was little Katara's waterbending could do for Kya's mental state.

Katara sat on the edge of Kya's bed and offered her the teacup. "Here. Careful, it's hot."

Kya gingerly grabbed the cup from her mother's hands, giving it a small sniff before curling her lip up in disgust. "What is this?"

"It's valerian root with some dried cherries. It may not be the greatest in terms of flavor, but it'll help you sleep."

With a small sigh, Kya nodded and quickly downed the concoction. "Bleh…" she quickly handed the cup back to her mother.

Katara set the cup and towel aside and grabbed the covers on Kya's bed. "C'mon. Why don't you lay down?"

"I don't need to be tucked in," Kya growled without any real bite.

Katara gave a small smile. "I know you don't."

Kya glowered at Katara for a moment before his expression softened. "Fine." She crawled underneath the covers and allowed herself to be mothered.

Katara smoothed Kya's hair and placed a quick kiss on her head. "Sleep well, sweetheart." As she started to walk out, she heard Kya softly call for her. Turning back, she stood in the doorway and said, "Yes, Kya?"

From where she lay, Kya stared up at her mother, a whole slew of emotions evident in her face. There was a long stretch of silence before Kya muttered a 'never mind' and curled into her covers to go to sleep.

Feeling a lot more useless than she would like, Katara shut the door to Kya's room and went to search for her husband and Toph. They had yet to give her any details of the night's events and she was determined to get the full picture.

It took some hunting, but she eventually found Aang standing on the balcony that was attached to their bedroom. He was leaning forward, his knuckles white as he squeezed the railing tightly, staring blankly out at the sea.

Wrapping her robe tighter around her, Katara stepped onto the balcony with her husband. "Where's Toph?"

"She had to go," Aang said, his voice strained. "Apparently Councilman Rouki escaped custody."

Katara gripped Aang's arm. "The Councilman?"

Aang nodded, eyes still fixed at some distant point over the water. "Apparently they didn't restrain him properly and he was able to bloodbend his way out." He shook his head. "I don't know what's more despicable: the fact that he's a bloodbender or the fact that he left his family behind."

Katara's blood froze. Bloodbending? She didn't have to look at the night sky to realize that it was a full moon tonight. She gripped Aang's arm. "You have to tell me what happened tonight."

Aang closed his eyes and sighed. "What happened is that Suluk buttered up our daughter and used her as bait to lure me in. Then his father tried to kill me."

When Aang didn't continue, Katara squeezed his arm. "Why?"

"Why? For one of the thousands of reasons people around the world want to kill me everyday!" He let go of the railing and turned around to face his wife. "Because he disapproves with how I dealt with the reconstruction. Because of how I believe that the barriers between nations shouldn't be so rigid. Because I've had children with the love of my life!"

Katara's eyes widened. "Is Councilman Rouki a Water Tribe Supremacist?"

"Apparently," Aang growled. "And now he's escaped. A bloodbending supremacist running through the city unchecked..."

"Well, Councilman Rouki is so recognizable to the public, it's not like he's going to be able to do much without getting caught…" Katara leaned forward and gasped Aang's hands. "But you and Kya are alright. And right now, that's all I care about."

"Mmm." Aang kept his eyes glued on Katara's hands, refusing to meet her gaze.

"Sweetie…?" Katara said softly. "Is something else on your mind?"

The airbender let out a self-deprecating snort. For several moments, he didn't say anything, rubbing his thumbs across the backs of Katara's hands. Then, he closed his eyes and shook his head. "The Councilman tried to kill me… And he could have very well succeeded."

Another moment of silence. "But…?" Katara encouraged.

Aang's jaw stiffed as he clenched his teeth. "Suluk hurt Kya… I felt it. And I became so consumed with rage that I lost control." His eyes began to glisten and he looked away from Katara. "I tried to kill him. I would have killed him... had Kya not stopped me."

Katara felt numb at first, the magnitude of her husband's statement taking a moment to process. Then, she kept herself outwardly unchanged. At this point, Aang was beyond upset and she wouldn't be able to help him if she started to fall apart too. "Aang, you know your emotions tend to get away from you when you're in the Avatar State." The airbender let out a sharp bark of laughter in response. "Why are you laughing?" Katara asked.

Aang let go of Katara's hands and stepped back, smiling half-heartedly. "I wasn't in the Avatar State," he said bitterly. "I mean, I was at first… but when I had Suluk in my grasp, when I was slowly squeezing the life out of him… I was completely myself." He looked back out at the sea. "I have no excuse."

Trembling slightly, but still able to keep her calm demeanor, Katara said softly, "Aang… it's completely understandable…"

"I wouldn't kill Ozai!" Aang nearly screamed, startling Katara. "And he was responsible for the death of millions of people! Almost killing that boy tonight is inexcusable!"

Katara grabbed her husband's shoulders, squeezing them hard. "Listen to me, Aang, and answer me this. And don't lie, because I will know." She pulled him closer and softened her voice. "Do you love me nearly as much as you love our children?"

Aang was taken aback. "Katara... I think you're vastly underestimating how much I care for you..."

"And you're underestimating the power of blood!" Katara said earnestly. "I know how much you care for me. But Kya is your child. Your flesh and blood. And that means more than you realize!"

Aang held Katara's gaze for a moment, and Katara could tell he was mulling over her words. But a moment later, he closed his eyes and shook his head. "It's still no excuse. There is no excuse for killing."

"But you didn't kill anyone!" Katara said exasperatedly.

Aang shook his head again, turned around, and grabbed his glider that was leaning against the balcony railing. "I'm sorry. I need to think."

"Aang, wait!" But before Katara knew it, her husband had opened his glider and taken off from the balcony, disappearing off into the night. She let out a growl of frustration and hit her fist on the railing. "You and your infuriating need to literally run away from your problems…"

Soon after taking off, Aang landed on the roof of the temple. He knew his wife meant well, but he needed to be alone with his thoughts. Katara just couldn't understand the the very issue that was plaguing him. It wasn't a simple matter of just whether or not he had killed someone. It was the fact that he had been willing. Even when he had been a child, unable to control the Avatar State in the throes of his most volatile emotions, his intention had never been to kill. What had made this night so special?

Of course, the answer was clearly Kya.

Aang had always been protective of his children. There was always that fear in the back of his mind; fear that his children would be taken away from him, either by illness, accident, or the many other possible reasons. As his friends liked to point out, he really was the cliched, overly-doting father.

He had been angry when he found Gyatso's skeleton at the Southern Air Temple. He had been angry when General Fong buried Katara into the earth. He had been outraged and upset when Appa was stolen by the sandbenders.

But nothing compared to the sheer rage that had coursed through him when he felt Kya's body hit the ground. It was like a trigger had been pulled in his mind. The threat to Kya's safety becoming all too real, and all Aang could think about was removing that threat from the world. Permanently.

Aang cringed and buried his face in his hands. He had felt Suluk's body slowly being crushed by his bending, the muscles straining, the bones cracking and breaking as he had clenched his hand…

Leaning over the edge of the roof, the Avatar heaved out the contents of his stomach. He held onto the edge with an iron grip as he retched and gagged, even when there was nothing left to vomit out.

When his body had calmed, he remained where he was for a moment, panting heavily. Suddenly hit with a desire, a need, to see Kya, the Avatar spit out the last of the bile and jumped off the roof. With barely the faintest rustle of the wind, Aang glided into his daughter's room through her open window. Setting his glider aside, he stepped forward and stood next to the head of her bed.

Kya was curled on her side, sleeping peacefully. As Aang watched her breathe, he was reminded of when he used to watch his children sleep as babies. He would spend hours, standing over them, completely amazed by these little things he and Katara had made together.

Aang sat on the edge of the bed, eyes never leaving Kya's face. He reached forward and gently placed a hand on her head, slowly smoothing out the wild strands.

Suluk's face flashed to the forefront of his mind, and Aang had to pull his hand away as he tensed. Clenching his fists, he tried to quell his trembles of anger. Looking at his daughter now, Aang just couldn't fathom anyone wanting to hurt her. The very thought made his blood boil anew, followed closely by feelings of guilt. It was precisely these feelings that caused him to almost kill Suluk in the first place.

Feeling ill again, Aang quickly stood and made to leave when he was suddenly stopped by a surprisingly tight grip on his wrist. Turning around, he found Kya in the same position as before except her eyes were open and her arm was outstretched. "Don't go," she said softly.

Aang was suddenly hit with the need to run, to get out of that room as fast as possible. However, there was no way he could deny his daughter anything. Especially not with everything that had happened that night.

So he sat back down, firmly gripping her hand. "How are you feeling?" he asked quietly.

She shrugged. "Honestly? I'm mostly just tired."

"Well, you've had an… exhausting day."

There was a moment of silence before Kya let go of her father's hand and sat up. Leaning forward slightly, she kept her gaze averted and seemed to be contemplating something. Aang waited patiently, letting his daughter take the lead.

"Do you remember when that Ozai loyalist tried to kill Honora?"

Aang frowned, completely thrown off by the unexpected topic. "Yes…"

Kya bit her bottom lip for a moment. "And didn't Zuko try and kill him afterwards…?"

Stomach clenching, Aang nodded. "Yes. Sokka and I were barely able to restrain him for long enough for the man to be sentenced."

Another beat of silence. "You still think Zuko is a good and honorable man... don't you?"

While he didn't think it was possible, Aang tensed further. "You overheard your mother and I."

Kya shrugged. "Hard not to. The tea didn't really help that much and you guys weren't exactly being quiet…"

Aang sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm so sorry, Kya… You weren't meant to hear that…"

He heard his daughter sigh. "For once, I agree with Mom. I don't understand why you're beating yourself up or something that didn't even happen." Aang opened his eyes to find Kya looking at him almost pleadingly. "Why is it okay when Zuko wants to kill a man for trying to kill his daughter… but it's not when you do?"

"It's not that simple, Kya…"

"Why not?" she said indignantly. "Because you're the Avatar?"

"Yes!" Aang shifted so he was more directly facing Kya. "Of all people, I must always stay in control! A loss of control on my part could be devastating."

Kya didn't respond immediately. Aang could see her thinking through his words. Finally, she said carefully, "Would… anything… cause a more "out-of-control" reaction than someone trying to hurt me? Or Bumi? Or Tenzin?"

What was she trying to get at? A more "out-of-control" reaction? Then, like a candle being lit, Aang realized what she was trying to say. If Suluk harming Kya wasn't quite enough to push him over the edge, then was there anything that could? He wanted to kill Suluk. In that moment, there was nothing he wanted more. But even then, he had held himself back.

He hadn't killed anyone.

Lost in his thoughts, Aang didn't notice Kya wrap her arms around him until she was already squeezing him tightly. Instinctively, Aang returned the embrace, holding his daughter as close to him as possible.

"I love you, Daddy…"

His body beginning to tremble violently. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried desperately not the let his tears go. A wave of sheer relief washed over him as he was released from an unknown fear that had plagued him all night: the fear that he would lose his daughter's affections. That she would see him at his lowest point and become terrified of him.

"I love you…" Aang whispered desperately. "You and your brothers are everything to me."

They both sat in silence, lost in each other's embrace, bathed in the setting light of the silver moon. The familial bond between father and daughter was now etched deeper than it had ever been before.

Rouki knelt on the ground, trembling slightly. "I am so sorry. I thought I would be able to remove the Avatar as an obstacle…"

"You were a fool for thinking the Avatar as such. He may be powerful, but he is weak when it comes to politics and justice."

Rouki hesitated, keenly aware of the array of bruises on his back. "I think it would be unwise to underestimate him…"

Yakone stood from his chair and walked forward until Rouki had to strain his neck to keep eye contact. "As it would be unwise to underestimate me."

Thank you all for reading :)