In a period of writer's block for my other story "The Long Lost Avatar" I had this idea in my head that I just couldn't shake. So I started jotting things down as ideas for the next story I wanted to write and I ended up writing a majority of the story so here it is. I hope you like it.

The song "The Last Night" by Skillet is the inspiration for this story.

Also inspired by the song "Need You Now" by Plumb.

Also I don't own either Plumb, Skillet or ATLAB.

Some basic info prior to the story: As far as character age. I would say that Aang and Katara married young probably 18 and 19…they have been married 2 years bringing them to about 20 and 21. You can figure out the rest based on the ages of Aang and Katara. So say Sokka and Suki are like 2 years older than Katara and Toph is roughly the same age as Aang. And since around the time the war ended Aang would have been nearly 13 so the war ended about 7 years prior to this story.

Chapter 1 Shattered

Aang lay silently in his room alone. His mind was in a fog, as it had been for months. He could not shake the depression he found himself in. He sighed heavily and turned his eyes to a small painting that sat upon his nightstand. He felt a cold numbness in his heart as he gazed upon it. The long past image boasted of happier times. It was a reminder of when all seemed right with the world, a time when he had everything; happiness, love, and hope. They were unbreakable then. He picked up the small frame and gazed silently upon the detailed portrait…at her lovely face. He brought his fingers to it and gently traced her image. It was the happiest they had ever been…their wedding day.

He pressed the frame to his aching chest, closed his eyes and sighed heavily. If only he had known then how things would turn out…if only he could have predicted. He quickly pressed the heels of his hands firmly against his eyes to prevent his tears from falling. He still loved her after all that had happened; he still needed her so much. Couldn't she see that, didn't she know? He opened his eyes and stared blankly up at the ceiling tiles. The love he had always felt for her was stronger than any emotion he had ever known and it saddened him greatly to realize that the love they shared was simply not enough.

For most of his life he had fantasized about her, romanticized their relationship. He had always felt that they were bonded by fate. He believed that as long as they were together nothing could ever go wrong. In his eyes their love could withstand any storm; that it would survive against all odds. Reality wasn't as kind. For the first time in his life Aang had come to the heartbreaking realization that there were some things in this world that love could not fix and some heart breaks that love could never heal.

The truth was Katara simply wasn't Katara anymore. She had not been since the fire in Ba-sing-se. Aang closed his eyes tightly as images of the horrific tragedy flashed through his exhausted mind.

...

He had arrived too late. He stood in shock and horror as the blaze ripped through their little earth kingdom home. He could see Katara leaning against her brother wailing and screaming incoherently. She tried to fight against his grip, wanting with all her might to run into the burning home. Sokka kept his arms strong around her though tears streamed from his own eyes. And Aang stood unable to let reality sink into his brain.

...

It was the beginning of the end for them in that moment.

The memory brought on a frantic sense of panic. Aang sat up quickly feeling suddenly short of breath and his heart began to race. He leaned forward into his hands and clutched the sides of his head as if suffering a terrible headache. Her screams still echoed through his haunted mind; he could still hear her sobbing as if he were still there, as if he were still trapped in that terrible moment that had forever changed their lives. He could still hear her painful words.

...

"It's your fault," she screamed tears streaming down her face as she glared at him, "I begged you to stay with us…but you cared more about your duties…you killed him, it's your fault."

...

Aang stood suddenly and began to frantically pace the floor of his room. He desperately attempted to banish the tragic memories from his aching brain. He gripped the bridge of his nose tightly as he began to feel rage boiling up inside is soul. Why had all of this happened? One minute their lives were perfect and the next everything was falling apart before their eyes. The life they knew slipped quickly through his fingers. No matter how hard he tried to keep hold of it, it all had disappeared into nothingness and vanished into the wind.

In his young life he had suffered many losses, more than any one person should ever have had to. But this loss proved to be the greatest of them all. For the second time in his life he had lost his family. The anger and pain that this caused consumed his very soul. He clenched his fists tightly as he could feel the hot tears beginning to stream down his face once again as he seethed in fury.

"AHHHH," he screamed in anguish, "why…what have we done to deserve this?" He suddenly punched the earthen wall with all his might leaving a large gaping hole in the stone. The vibration from his hand shook the wall causing a wooden picture frame to fall from a shelf on the same wall. Aang turned sharply to the frame. It lay shattered upon the floor. Aang's eyes widened and he grimaced at the sight. He knelt down slowly and lifted the painting from the broken pieces of glass and wood. Tears continued to stream down his face as he gazed sadly upon the image. He sank slowly to the floor and leaned back against the wall, the picture gripped tightly in his hand. He brought his other hand to his eyes and attempted to wipe his tears away but his efforts were in vain. He continued to stare at the picture. He gently traced the image, the deep gray eyes…the brilliant smile. The boy looked like his mother but had his father's eyes. That's what everyone said. Aang sighed sadly as he gazed upon the picture of the happy one year old boy…his son.

"I'm so sorry," he sobbed, "I failed you…I didn't mean to…I didn't mean to." He pulled the picture to his face and kissed the image longingly, wishing with all his might that all of this was just a terrible nightmare that would end upon awakening. He sighed heavily as his tears continued to fall.

"You were my world," he whispered, "you were everything to me and I failed you...I failed both of you."

Sokka peaked cautiously into his sister's room. She lay quietly upon the bed staring blankly up at the ceiling, her eyes void of emotion. He watched as a nurse scurried around the room tidying up and checking Katara. He sighed heavily as he leaned upon the door frame. He ran his fingers over his tight pony tail as he closed his eyes in frustration. He could not fathom how things had come to this. How did everything get so out of hand? He sighed again and turned away from the room. He started to head down the hallway.

"Excuse me," a woman's voice called. Sokka turned toward the voice.

"Are you Katara's brother," a woman in a blue kimono stood before him awaiting an answer. Sokka nodded.

"Yeah," he replied, "I'm Sokka…her brother." He crossed his arms over his chest and walked up to the older woman. The woman smiled sympathetically in his direction.

"I'm very sorry for your loss," she said softly, "we all heard of the terrible tragedy in Ba-Sing-Se…just terrible." Sokka nodded silently. He turned and gazed once again into his sister's room.

"You brought her here in time," the woman sighed, "we were able to save her life." Sokka sighed in relief but his eyes still displayed worry and concern for his baby sister.

"Will she be okay," Sokka questioned as he turned back to the woman. She grimaced a bit at Sokka's question. She hesitated as she tried to find the right words.

"Will she be okay," Sokka repeated the question a bit more frantically.

"Physically," the woman answered, "physically she will be fine…but emotionally…mentally…she has a lot of healing to do, unfortunately the healers cannot help her with that." Sokka turned from the woman and gazed once again into Katara's room. He could feel his eyes welling up with tears and a lump forming in his throat.

"At the moment," the woman went on, "she is unresponsive to us."

"What does that mean," Sokka questioned. The woman shrugged.

"According to the healers there is no physical reason for her catatonic state," the woman replied, "it's like she's given up…like she is deciding to stop living her life to avoid her grief."

He closed his eyes and allowed his tears to roll down his face. The pain caused by seeing Katara in such a state of mind throbbed in his chest. He dropped his head and stared at the floor. A barrage of images flashed through his mind. He saw Katara sprawled upon the floor of her room, her wrists slashed, blood pooling around her silent fragile form. His mind flashed to another memory. He saw a little boy running happily through a grassy field, his stormy gray eyes sparkling in the sunshine, laughing uncontrollably.

"Unca Sokka," a little voice echoed through his tired mind. After everything that they all had been through, after all that they had done, why had everything come to this horrible and tragic end?

"I'm sorry if I stepped over the line," the woman's kind voice snapped Sokka back to reality, "I didn't mean to." Sokka shook his head.

"It's okay," he replied softly, "I understand." He looked up at the woman with a sorrowful expression. "What can I do…how can I help her," he questioned. The woman shook her head.

"Katara is in a fragile state," the woman replied, "it's going to take some time for her to heal…all you can do is be there for her…be strong for her…surround her with love and understanding." Sokka nodded, his eyes remained on the floor.

"Have you notified her husband yet," the woman questioned. Sokka glanced up at her furrowing his brow at her question. He silently shook his head.

"Not yet," he replied.

"I suggest you notify him as soon as possible," the woman replied. Sokka looked at her curiously.

"There is something else," the woman said. Sokka looked to her questioningly. The woman paused as she tried to figure out a way to break the news to Sokka.

"What," Sokka questioned, "what is it?" The woman looked back at him knowingly.

"The healers," she replied, "the healers discovered something while they were fighting to save her."

"What," Sokka questioned panic filling his voice.

"Katara," the woman paused, "she's pregnant."

"Pregnant," Sokka repeated. He tried desperately to wrap his mind around this new development. Katara had left Aang nearly three months prior. "I don't understand," he stammered, "how…I…I mean…how far along is she."

"The healers estimate that she is about six months along," the woman replied.

"Six…six months," Sokka replied as if in a daze, "but she isn't even showing…are you sure…are you positive…wouldn't she have known that…she…she didn't say anything about it." The woman nodded.

"She's carrying small," the woman replied, "it's possible that under all the stress and grief she has suffered recently that she might not have even known."

Sokka nodded as he stared blankly at the woman in obvious shock. He silently did the math in his head. Six months ago…the fire in Ba-Sing-Se had ripped through Katara and Aang's home in the middle of the night. The fire had been set by Ozai Loyalist rebels as a message to the Avatar while he was in the Fire Nation capitol working on a peace agreement with Fire Lord Zuko. The fire that had taken the life of his nephew. The rebels had succeeded in tearing the Avatar's family apart causing him to turn his back on his duties, on his friends, and on Katara. Three and a half months later Katara came home to the South Pole with Sokka and Suki, leaving Aang behind in Ba-sing-se.

"It must have been before the fire," Sokka muttered to himself.

"Whatever the circumstances," the woman replied, "Katara doesn't have much longer before she gives birth…if she remains in the state that she is in right now…the baby will need his or her father."

"You mean she could stay like this," Sokka questioned. The woman nodded.

"How long," Sokka questioned. The woman shrugged.

"It's hard to say," she replied, "days... months…years…it could be indefinite." Sokka gazed back at her wide eyed.

"Isn't there anything we can do to bring her back," Sokka questioned frantically. The woman shook her head.

"Like I said before…all you can do is be there for her," she smiled sympathetically, "whether or not she regains consciousness is ultimately up to Katara. All any of you can do is to try to give her some incentive to come back to us, remind her of all that she loves, all that was important to her, all she would be losing if she chose to remain in this state."

"She can hear us then," Sokka questioned. The woman nodded.

"There is no reason to believe otherwise," she replied softly. Sokka nodded. The woman rested a hand on Sokka's shoulder and smiled tenderly, "don't give up hope."