Warning: This story contains spoilers for Season 2 but mostly for episodes "The Library" and "The Desert." If you do not like spoilers, please do not read.

Another one-shot I've done after watching the "movie," "The Fury of Aang." Katara was such a strong character in the last episode and it was such a great character development episode for her that I couldn't help but write something about it. It is not intended to be a Kataang story but more of a nurturing story as that is what Katara basically is: a nurturer.

Any criticism is welcome and if anyone knows how to spell the owl's name, please tell me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

She hated seeing him like that.

Sand whipped her face, blinding her as rage rolled off of him in waves. Arrows and eyes glowing fiercely, he lost it. Wind surrounded him, forming a protective barrier from any attacks towards him.

But it didn't protect the ones outside from the hurricane of sand.

Her brother ran, taking Toph and Momo with him. It was the right thing to do, in a primal sense. She would've thanked him but was afraid to talk; afraid to draw the Avatar's attention towards her. He wasn't Aang anymore. Aang was a carefree child who loved jokes and to joke. He goofed off whenever possible and had a heart of gold.

He might've been Aang physically but, mentally, he was an enraged Spirit, no different than Wong Shi Tong. He was the Avatar now.

She was tired and scared. It didn't show on her face though. She felt like crying. Seeing the boy like this always destroyed her heart. Never had she been happy to see someone in so much pain, in so much rage.

The rage and fury that powered the sandstorm continued to grow. It became physical, turning into wind that whipped sand and blanketed the area. His face was a mask of anger, underneath it would be the face of a wounded child. One who had very little and just had his heart ripped out.

The Sandbenders disappeared; Toph and Sokka and Momo vanished in a cloud of dust.

Toph. She didn't, couldn't blame Toph. She knew that the girl had done all she could. The blind Earthbender couldn't have fought off the Sandbenders alone. Instead of saving one life, she chose to save four. She had grown closer to her lately. In this heat and sand, the girl was almost defenseless.

She stared sadly at the boy, a mere shell now. He had lost his best friend, one of the last things that reminded him of home and of the past

A bit of blue flashed in the sand. Sokka. He was brave but dense at times. His hallucinations had put her at edge, nearly driving her insane. But he of all people knew what Aang was going through. They had both lost someone dear to them. She remembered that he had been there for her. He had danced around it but he had been there.

And now, she was here for them.

She didn't consider herself brave as she walked forward. This wasn't about bravery or about cowardice. This was just doing what was right. And she needed to do this, for all of their sakes.

He lifted up into the air as she got closer, raising an arm to block out the sand. She could feel the pain that emitted from him, hitting her as hard as a ship crashing into an iceberg. She didn't stagger though and kept moving forward.

Reaching up, she carefully grabbed his arm, keeping him within reach. She refused to let him give into the fury and the pain. He'd kill them all if he did. The Avatar turned to her, eyes glaring so fiercely that she thought he would strike her down. Despite the heat, she felt a chill run through her. Those expressionless eyes were just two glowing lights in a sea of chaos.

Yet, there was a plea there, a cry for help she couldn't ignore.

Her face remained placid, looking up at him so sadly. Her own plea was visible, a plea for him to stop. She reached out her other hand, gently wrapping her fingers around his other arm. Slowly, she pulled him back to the ground, ignoring the wind that made her hair whip her face hard. She ignored the pain that flowed through her as sand cut into her skin. All she knew was that he needed help and she was the only one who could.

As soon as his feet touched the sand, she brought him close. The air was somewhat peaceful inside the barrier, an ironic twist to the storm raging on the outside. She felt like crying, she truly did. But she needed to remain strong for him, for Toph, for Sokka, and even for Momo. There were no doubts in her mind of him hurting her as she wrapped her arms around him. Even though he wasn't Aang at the moment, the human inside of him seemed to react. The winds calmed down a notch and she hugged him tighter, to tell him she was here for him. She'd always be there for him.

He stood rigid, face distorted by pain and anger. She wished to wipe it all away, to rid of it like dirt. She closed her eyes, unable to look at the rage and hurt on his face anymore. No words passed between them. Aang wouldn't have been able to hear them anyways. She willed the Spirit to calm, that it would be all right if he calmed down.

Her will seemed to have broken through the shell. The barrier around them dispersed, the sand falling to the ground like rain. She barely registered that he was leaning on her before the glow that had burned through her eyelids faded.

Tears streamed down the Avatar's face, the pain surfacing now. She felt his body go limp, his shoulders drooping. She drew him tighter like she remembered her mother doing, reminding him that she was there. He leaned heavily on her, face relaxing for a moment. The tears continued streaming, each one a plea for his friend's return.

She held onto him, refusing to let go. She could feel the Sandbenders and their friends staring at the two, amazed at her courage. Almost to tears, she wanted to tell them it wasn't courage that made her stay behind. It hadn't been bravery that had fueled her drive to help him instead of running.

Katara didn't voice her reason though. It would break the strange spell that had befallen the young boy, maybe driving him back into a fit of rage.

She knew his pain, the pain of losing someone special. When people avoided it, it drilled more pain in, destroying the heart. She refused to run because she knew the outcast feeling when her mother had been lost. It had hurt, almost as much as the loss itself. So she had stood her ground, holding him to remind him that all hope was not lost.

Not as long as she was here for him.