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Katara rolled from her back to her side. She was used to not getting much sleep these days, as it was only a matter of weeks, maybe even days before she would give birth to her third child. As she turned over, she saw Kya, curled up in the crook of Aang’s arm. She laid for a moment, soaking in the heaven that laid in front of her. Kya breathed softly, almost perfectly in sync with Aang. The sun peeked through the curtains, and cast an angelic glow onto her husband and daughter. Although Kya was nearing five years of age, she still managed to sneak into her parents’ bed most nights. Katara was shocked that Bumi hadn’t come to wake them all, as he did most mornings. As soon as she thought it, almost as if she had summoned him, Bumi stood in the doorway to the bedroom. Katara made eye contact with him, and held her finger to her lips, and then motioned him to come join her. Bumi smiled and scurried to the bed and nuzzled in next to his mother. His movement was enough to wake Aang, but Kya remained fast asleep on her father's arm. A few sweet minutes passed before Kya awoke. Her eyes fluttered open, and she stretched her little arms and legs.
“G’mornin’ mommy.” She said when she noticed Katara was awake. “G’mornin’ daddy.” She sat up and wrapped her arms around Aang in the biggest hug she could muster.
“Bumi is here too,” Katara chuckled as she ruffled Bumi’s unruly hair. They could blame it being early for the state of Bumi’s hair, but they all knew that that was just the way it was normally.
“G’mornin’ Bumi.” Kya said. She scooted on her knees across the bed until she was close enough to place a hand on Katara’s belly. “Good morning, baby.”
Katara sat up and scooped Kya into her lap, as best as she could. There was something truly special about that little girl.
- - - - -
That night, Aang and Katara had to have a “big girl” talk with Kya. In her own room, she sat, eyes welled with tears as Katara sat next to her, and Aang kneeled on the floor in front of her. Aang held her hands in his.
“Baby, you need to sleep in your own bed, in your own room.” Katara ran her fingers through Kya’s long dark hair. Her shoulders shook with tears.
“When the new baby gets here, Mommy and I will have to wake up a lot in the night to take care of them, so we need to make sure you get the best sleep you can get.” Aang tried to explain.
“I- I want to help take care of the baby,” Kya whimpered.
“You can! And we will need your help, Ky.” Katara kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Maybe daddy and I can tell you a story to help you get to sleep.” Kya nodded her head slowly, and she laid down on her bed. She looked at Aang with her big blue eyes. He gave her a sweet smile.
“A long time ago, when mommy and I were younger, we had to walk through a big cave, to get to Omashu. Some nice travellers we met made the journey through the tunnel with us, and they had flutes and instruments and they sang songs that drove Uncle Sokka crazy.” Aang laughed at the memory of Sokka’s annoyance in the nomads. Katara chuckled.
“Songs like what?” Kya asked sleepily. The story was working. Katara chimed in, in a sing-songy voice.
“Two lovers, forbidden from one another,” She started. Aang joined in.
“A war divides their people, and a mountain divides them apart,” They sang together. Kya’s eyes fluttered as she began to drift asleep.
“Built a path to be together.” Katara sang as she stroked Kya’s head.
“Secret tunnel,” Aang sang quietly.
“Secret tunnel,” Katara sang back. “Through the mountain,” Almost as soon as the song was over, they noticed that the little girl had fallen fast asleep to her parents singing voices. Aang leaned forward and planted a kiss on Katara’s lips, and she felt as if she could see the room light up the same way their kiss had lit up that secret tunnel all those years ago. They quietly crept out of Kya’s room and returned to their own.
And to their surprise, Kya made it through the whole night in her own bed, without causing a single problem.
- - - - -
The next day, Kya went about her day as normal, but with each step, she hummed the tune of the song that her parents had used to sing her to sleep that night. While she played with Bumi, while she ate lunch, while she helped Aang brush Appa, the whole time, the melody didn’t stop. By the time dinner had rolled around, she had evolved from only humming, and was singing the words now. Although she didn’t get all of the lyrics correct, the spirit was definitely there. As Katara and Aang prepped their dinner, Kya serenaded them and Bumi danced around goofily. Aang recruited Bumi to help him place plates around their table. As Bumi placed the fifth plate down, he looked up at his father with confusion.
“We got an extra plate.” Bumi remarked.
“No, Uncle Sokka is coming over for dinner tonight.” Katara explained. Bumi squealed at the news. A few minutes later, they heard noise at the front door, and sure enough, there stood Sokka. Bumi ran to greet him, and Sokka scooped his nephew up under his arm.
“Bum Man!!” Sokka shouted. “What is UP buddy?”
“The sky.” Bumi answered, full of giggles.
“Oh! We got a funny guy here!” Sokka said as he carried Bumi back into the kitchen. He placed Bumi down in his chair and he tilted it backwards a little. Bumi shrieked at the movement, but he quickly dissolved back into laughter. Katara scowled at her brother’s rowdiness.
“Please be careful, Sokka.” She scolded. He obliged… pregnant Katara was not a force one wanted to mess with. As the room quieted down, they all realized that Kya hadn’t stopped singing the whole time. She sat in her chair, swinging her little legs back and forth, and nodding her head to a rhythm that only she could hear.
“.... a mountain divides them apart!” She sang. Sokka stopped in his tracks. He turned slowly to look at his niece, and then to face her parents.
“Which one of you taught her that song?” He asked. “You know I hate that song.” Aang and Katara looked at each other and laughed nervously.
“Wow. No answer?” Sokka chuckled. “Where’d you learn that song, little lady?” He asked Kya.
“Mommy and daddy sang it to me! It’s my favorite song!” She answered. Sokka looked back at Katara and Aang.
“Great. Can’t even escape that song twenty years later.” He leaned back in his chair and laughed.
- - - - -
About a week and a half went by, and Kya’s infatuation with the song dimmed, but only a little bit. She went from singing it at all hours of the day, to just most hours of the day. Her parents had started to grow immune to the tune, because they knew that it would put her to sleep almost instantly, so they dealt with it during the day.
Luckily enough, Kya had truly gotten used to sleeping in her own bed just in time. Almost two weeks after Kya’s first night in her own room, Katara gave birth to her third child. Bumi and Kya stood eagerly in the doorway, anxious to meet their new sibling. Aang walked to his children, and led them to the bed, where Katara lay resting with their new little brother.
“What’s his name, mommy?” Bumi asked.
“Tenzin.” Katara answered. Bumi climbed into bed with his mother, and Aang lifted Kya next to him. She let Bumi hold the baby, and then with Aang’s help, Kya got the chance to hold him too. As she sat with her baby brother in her arms, the biggest smile creeped onto Kya’s face. As the family sat, relishing in their newest family member, Kya began to sing her favorite song to her baby brother, who cooed in her arms.
- - - - -
When Tenzin was old enough to toddle, Aang, Kya and Bumi would parade around the house with him, as Bumi played the flute, Aang and Kya sang, and Tenzin would screech with excitement, as toddlers do, all to the tune of Kya’s song.