Now, assuming I am correct, in The Awakening, after Katara's mending with her father, she, Sokka, and Toph take off on Appa to go find Aang. And from there, they head out to the Fire Nation, leading to The Headband and etc.

To me this seems, well, a little rash. "Assuming Aang hasn't drowned, we'll catch you on invasion day, Dad."

So I guess this story can be considered a little AU. I always pictured that after finding Aang, they would at least stop by for a few days, confirming plans and all, before taking off. Poor Hakoda can't have his kids visit without being interrupted by one urgent crisis or another :P

They were all exhausted these days. Tired of keeping watch, tired of scouting, tired of sailing, tired of hiding, tired of war. He could see it in his men's eyes; that they yearned to turn home. Even worse what was he saw in the eyes of his children.

In his absence, his son and his little girl had aged lifetimes. Sokka was starting to grow scruff on his chin, being too exhausted after a long days of reviewing battle plans to shave before passing out completely on his cot at night. His forehead was showing faint creases from often frowning in concentration. He was serious and methodical; he had no time to joke around.

Katara was almost sickly thin. And although she bluntly denied it, he knew she was too preoccupied to bother eating healthily. The rings under her eyes were so dark they could be mistaken for bruises. And unlike Sokka, she had very little control; she was likely to either snap at you or burst into tears.

Hakoda wanted to run the Firelord and his cursed heirs through with his own dagger; they had transformed his kids into war veterans.

He didn't know how he managed to put up such a strong front for the weeks they sailed together; seeing them this way was heartbreaking. He thanked all the Spirits they had the earthbender girl with them, for she could sometimes pull Sokka away from drawing statistics to sleep or convince Katara to go for fresh air. But he saw it in her too; the twelve-year-old who was wearing shoes much to old to fit her.

They called the Avatar the world's last hope. Hakoda believed it true to last syllable. Because when the boy woke, it was like the sun shining again after a dark South Pole winter.

He was weak and in pain from his comatose state, but he was filled with so much energy it was contagious. Sokka was sprouting sarcasm out his ears. Toph was punching everyone on a daily basis. He could hear his men whistling folk tunes as they went about cleaning quarters and telling old tribal stories at night. He himself found he laughed easily again.

He caught sight of Katara and Aang sitting together on the deck. He was glad to see her outside for a change; for weeks she had holed herself up in Aang's room.

The boy was telling her some story; he guessed about his previous visit to the Fire Nation from the snippets he caught. Due to his injuries he couldn't move much, but he was illustrating with his hands as elaborately as he could. Katara smiled and giggled at regular intervals.

It had been a long time since Hakoda had seen his daughter smile.

And the day the four set off again, kids who carried the fate of the world on their shoulders, he had every confidence in them. War may have changed his Sokka and Katara to a man and a woman, but Aang could make them kids again.