A/N: No. Your e-mail is not playing tricks on you, I am not pulling your leg. I actually, finally (after over a year) updated this. I feel awful for leaving you guys for so long. I really do. And, I don't blame you if you have to go back and look over stuff or anything.

Anyway, I'm so so so so sorry. I hope this chapter lives up to the year I've left it. :(

Disclaimer: Oh, really, I only wish I owned. I'd be reading over stuff for the new show. :D

I sat in the passenger seat as Aang drove, his hands keeping the wheel steady. He was paying close attention to the road, but I had a feeling he was thinking about other things. We were getting close to our town, and I was beginning to get nervous. I touched my arm.

After leaving the hotel, we had driven back to the cabin. We stopped there to get the story straight, and make sure we had everything covered. I had then called Toph, and asked her if she could somehow bring one of the concert slabs to my house around the time we would get there. By the time we were done, it was getting late. We had instantly gone to sleep, knowing we'd need our rest for the next day.

"Are you okay?"

I looked over at Aang, seeing his concern. I shrugged, holding the picture of Hilshi and Cashen to my chest. I had a knot in my chest, and I was trying hard to release the tension.

"Yeah." I said, but I knew Aang could tell I was lying. I bit my lower lip as he quickly turned onto a street that bordered a park. He parked next to the curb, and slowly shut off the car. I let go of my lip, taking a deep breath. The air outside the car was calm and cool. Everything seemed fresh and new after the rains.

"I think we should talk."

I didn't have to look at Aang this time to see the concern. I shifted in my seat so I was facing him more, and looked up. He smiled at me slightly, before reaching over and touching my cheek.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He said quietly, and I grinned slightly.

"I'm nervous, is all." I said and he smiled at me. He took off his seat belt and slid over next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. He shifted, before taking a deep breath.

"Why are you nervous?" He asked, and I took a long breath.

"I don't know. I mean, what if they don't believe us? It's been one hundred years."

There was a whoosh of air, and I shut my eyes as my hair flew around me. I couldn't stop the smile that grew on my face, and I looked up at Aang.

"Why wouldn't they believe us?" He asked innocently. I shook my head, feeling silly.

"You're right."

I felt Aang nod, and then his hand squeezed my shoulder. We sat for a moment, and I felt the quiet settle over me. I then heard Aang breath, and looked up at him.

"What happens after this?" He asked, and I quirked an eyebrow.

"I mean, like, after we explain what happened? What are we going to do?"

It was my turn to move in the car, and I straddled Aang's waist as he slid into my seat.

"What do you think we are going to do?"

Aang shrugged, and I smiled. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, nestling my head in the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and I could feel the confusion in his grip.

"I don't know. That's why I'm asking." He sounded a little sarcastic.

"Well, what do you want?" I sat back on his lap, resting my cast-covered arm on his shoulder. He moved his hands off my waist, and up to my face. Before I could react, he kissed me. I smiled as he rested his forehead against mine.

"I understand." I said, causing him to laugh.

"I think we should go on a date." He said, and I tilted my head.

"I mean, I want to formally date you. After we explain to our parents and stuff. You know, go to the movies or go get lunch. That kind of thing."

I laughed before wrapping my arms around his neck again and nodding.

"I think I'd like that." I said with a grin, and he grinned back. I moved off his lap, and he slid back into the driver's seat. As he drove around the block, his hand found mine on the seat and I smiled.

o.O

I found myself slightly surprised to find not only my parents, but Aang's as well in my living room. However, they were nowhere near each other, and Sokka sat in on the couch in the middle. My parents were sitting on the far couch, while Pape Zephin stood with his wife near the door. When Aang went over to give them a hug, Sokka got up and grabbed me, dragging me over to where our parents stood.

"Katara." Mom breathed, wrapping her arms around me tightly. I hugged her back, and felt my father's arms go around me as well.

"You really had us worried." Dad said, and I rolled my eyes. I knew, deep down under his façade of anger, he'd been worried. And I knew that, at any time, I'd be able to come home.

Solution or no solution.

"So, did you figure it out?"

I let go of my parents, turning around to look at Sokka. He was standing behind me, and I bit my lower lip. I walked around him, picking my bag off the floor and reaching inside.

I quickly pulled out: the picture of Hilshi and Cashen, the history book, everything I'd written down from my visit with Jelni, and the copies of the star charts Aang had made. I then grabbed Aang, pulled him over next to me, and stood up straight.

"Please, sit." I said to his parents, and Pape looked at me closely. His wife huffed, and pulled on his hand.

"Pape, just do it." She said, making him move over to the couch to sit.

"Akane-"

She gave him a firm look, and he sat on the couch next to the end. Sokka sat back down, next to Akane, and my parents sat on the other side of him.

"Okay, you have our attention Katara. Go." Sokka said, and I grinned at him.

"I assume that you," I looked at Aang's parents, "Have noticed your bending has returned?" I said, and Pape nodded. His hand moved to clutch his wife's, and I nodded.

"Well, then I guess I should just explain. See, I looked through some history books and found the date we lost our bending and began fighting. May 21st, 1909, as we probably all already know. Well, what's interesting, is that Hilshi Heken and Cashen Zephin both disappeared the day before, on the 20th. Now, I went to see Inshi, my great uncle, and he told me a little bit about what he remembers about the two. Mostly that they were good friends and stuff. About how Inshi can clearly remember the look of jealousy in their spouses eyes when they did certain things."

I picked up the picture and stared at it before handing it to Dad. He smiled at it for a moment, before handing it off to my mother.

"I went and spoke with Jelni, as you know, and she told me much about her father and Hilshi. We had a lovely conversation about it, and she told of fights she'd heard between her parents."

"When Katara and I were up at the cabin, I told her about Hilshi being seven months pregnant at the time of her disappearance. And Katara did simple math, and figured out that eight months before her disappearance Hilshi's husband was away on business." Aang interrupted, and then I heard the doorbell ring. I quickly moved over to the door, to find Toph there with the chunk of concrete at the bottom of my front steps. I looked at Aang, and he nodded.

"Here, come look."

I gave Toph a hug as the parents walked down the steps to look at the concrete.

"We found this in the river, towards the east side of town. I found it, a long time ago in my wanderings. The river breaks into a rectangle shape, and the water runs faster there." Aang said.

"You mean the warm spring river, right?" Sokka said, and I nodded at him. He put his hand on his chin.

"I've been there. I've noticed the waters faster, but I've never been able to read the slab." He said as he bent down to look at the date.

"Do you know what's under the slab?" Aang asked, and Sokka paled slightly.

"No." He said, and I shook my head.

"You don't want to know."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Dad said, looking skeptical.

"It's a grave marker. Under this was Cashen." Toph snapped, and I touched her shoulder. My parents stared at me, and I could see Pape bit his lips.

"So they were…" Pape trailed off, and then he shook his head.

"My dad always told stories, about how he believed his mother was murdered. As he got older and older, the stories became more… imaginative and wild. And one time, when I went to visit him in the hospital, he told me he believed that his father killed Cashen. He was thirteen when Hilshi died, and always told me stories about what he heard his father say in his sleep."

I stared at my dad, watching as he stared at the slab of concrete and spoke. Pape shifted.

"What did he say in his sleep?" I asked, and Dad laughed.

"Grandpa always talked in his sleep. And, if you were lucky enough, you could get a conversation going with him. He was that kind of sleeper. And, dad told me that one time he got Grandpa to tell him about the night Cashen disappeared and that Grandpa said he'd done it. In his sleep, nonetheless, but it still scared dad."

Pape shifted again, this time moving up to the stone. He touched it for a moment, before looking up at Aang.

"You have something else to show us?"

I jumped, and ran inside. Aang was behind me, and we carefully pulled the star charts we needed out. I stepped onto the gravel of my loop driveway when I felt a raindrop fall onto my nose. I looked up at the sky and felt more rain hit my face.

"Lets get inside." I heard my mom say, and everyone moved past me up the stairs. I stared up at the sky, moving my uninjured hand above my head and concentrating on moving the water droplets away. I smiled as they did, and then ran inside to follow everyone else. Aang was showing them the star charts, and I stood back to watch. When Aang finished, it got quiet.

I looked between Pape and my father, watching as they both thought. I could see the thought on my dad's face, and could just make out Pape's. I saw Mom touch Dad's back, and then he looked up at me.

"So, their deaths caused this." He stated, and I nodded. Pape shifted again, and this time I turned to glare at him.

"I am thinking. Do you think that, without knowing it, my grandmother and your grandfather killed Hilshi and Cashen on the same night?"

He was looking at Dad, and Dad bit his lip.

"Because they each believed their spouse was cheating on them, and was jealous already."

I watched as both men seemed to comprehend what Aang and I were saying. Dad looked at Mom, and then stepped forward. He held his hand out to Pape, and Pape looked at him.

"I want to say I'm sorry. For anything I have done in the past."

There was a moment when I thought Pape wouldn't take my father's hand.

However, he then took my father's hand and smiled.

O.o

"I hear you have a very interesting story for us tonight, Wu?"

"Why, yes, a very interesting and positive one. Today I was informed by a friend that the Zephin and Heken families (known for being the largest and wealthiest families of the water and air elements) have regained their bending."

Wu turned at her desk, looking over at her partner anchor, Teo.

"Really? That's amazing."

"Yes, it quite is. It's been discovered that the murders of Hilshi Heken and Cashen Zephin caused the families bending to disappear 100 years ago."

"Murders? But, weren't those cold cases?"

"They have been marked as cold case disappearances for 100 years now, but their bodies were discovered by the two kids who figured out the mystery. They were buried in a warm spring river near the east side of town, under two slabs of concrete."

"So it was a double homicide?"

"No, see, that is where things get odd. Apparently, each was killed in a different manner. The coroner believes their murders were separate acts."

"That's amazing. So, the fighting between the two families will end now?" Teo asked in a hopeful voice. Wu shrugged.

"We can only hope, can't we?" She said, and Teo nodded.

"That's right. Now, how about Ban with the weather."

The news story played on the television, all around town. Some missed it, as they were outside practicing their newfound bending. Most earth and fire benders saw, and the news rapidly spread from neighbor to street vendor to cabbage merchant to anyone who would listen.

The Heken's and Zephin's, unfortunately, missed it. They spent their evening in the back yard of Hakoda's home, most of the children practicing their bending while the adults sat around a table and talked. Sokka joined at the request of his father, but Katara turned down the request. Aang did as well, and Katara led Aang over to a small group of trees in the far corner of her back yard. There was a hammock there, and they laid down on it.

They were quiet as they watched the children play near the small pond. Katara could hear the beat of Aang's heart, as her ear was pressed to his chest. She smiled to herself, moving her gaze to the table of adults. She felt a surge of happiness in her stomach, and she looked up at Aang. His eyes were shut, and he looked calm and happy.

"Aang." She said, and he opened one eye slightly.

"Yeah?" He asked, squeezing her shoulder. She laid her head back on his chest, matching her breathing to his.

"We did good."

"Very literate." He teased her, and she slapped his arm. He laughed at her, before pulling her hair off her neck.

"But, yes, we did good."

Katara laughed to herself, but stopped when she had to bound out of the hammock to prevent two little water benders from strangling each other. Aang watched her go for a moment before smiling and shutting his eyes again.

He fell asleep before Katara got back, listening to the sounds of the calm backyard.

A/N: So, there will be an epilouge soon. Sometime soon. I would have posted this on Sunday, but then I went camping for three days. So, you have it now. If I find some time this week, I'll get that epilouge posted.

Reviews would be appreciated, even if it's just to yell at me. :P

Thanks, Izzy.