AN: OMG! Avatar is over...and it was great! But not without a big unanswered question. What happened to Azula? It's obvious that she's not evil like her father, and that she was crazy. Now that she had a mental breakdown, she needs her brother to help her, not throw her in jail.

Here's what I think probably happened (somewhere along these lines), and if it didn't happen, it should have.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender (...if I did, Azula would've had more screen time.)

Healing for Azula

Zuko paused outside the small, modest looking hut where he was supposed to find his mother. He couldn't believe it. This was the moment. He was finally going to see his mother again. And Azula…

He squeezed the warm, clammy hand inside his. He felt a faint squeeze back. He looked back at his disheveled younger sister. She looked uneasy. She may have resisted going on this journey with him, but he knew more than anybody that this was what she needed. She needed to see her mother again.

Zuko had always known that there had been a rift between them, but he never knew it was this significant, and that it had affected Azula the way it had. He loved his sister, even if she had done evil things. He would do anything for her. Now was when she needed him most, even if she didn't realize it.

"Azula…." She said nothing. She didn't even look at him. He just looked ahead and walked inside, pulling her along with him.

The inside of the hut looked old and ratty, but remarkably clean. It was well kept, but age had done its damage. It was decorated earth kingdom style, but the rest of the apartment became a blur as his eyes settled upon a middle aged woman sitting at a desk. It was his mother, he knew in an instant. She had Azula's hair but Zuko's gentle featured face. She looked to the side at her visitors. Her jaw hung open and she dropped the pen in hand. She stood up abruptly.

"Zuko? Azula?"

"Yes, mother, it's us…" Zuko choked. He could hardly contain his emotion. She gasped and ran forward to hug them both. Zuko wrapped his arms around her tightly, but Azula jerked away. She took a step back out of her mother's reach.

Zuko forgot Azula momentarily while hugging his mother, but eventually they parted, both staring at the princess. After a moment of small talk between Zuko and his mother, he knew that it was time for him to leave.

"I'll leave you two alone," Zuko said hastily and exited the cottage. Now Azula was alone with her mother. He hoped this would work. He knew mother was what Azula needed, but Azula had always been to arrogant and too proud to admit it. But now that everything she had was taken away from her, including her sanity, she might give in to her needs.

"Get away from me! You hate me! You fear me! You think I'm a monster!" He heard Azula yell from inside the cottage. He then heard a thumping noise…had somebody fallen to the floor? Could Azula have attacked mother?

"I don't hate you, Azula. I love you," he heard his mother's gentle voice. She was ok.

"Get away from me!" he heard Azula scream. There were clashing sounds. Azula must've been throwing things at their mother. He did not intervene, however. He heard his mother's gentle, caressing voice through Azula's continuous screams. It pained Zuko to hear her in such agony. He prayed his mother would make it stop. She was the only one who could do it, he knew. Father just fed her ambition and anger, Zuko's new position as firelord only made her jealous, but mother gave her nothing but love.

Suddenly the screaming changed. There were no more words in them, they were just wails. There was no more anger in them, there was only sadness. Although it hurt to hear her cry, it was what Zuko wanted. If Azula could confront and accept her sadness and pain, she could begin healing.

The screams and wails subsided to mere sobs. He could still hear his mother's voice floating through the air, and with each passing moment, Azula became quieter and quieter. He could barely make out what his mother was saying.

"I love you…it's going to be ok…I love you…it's going to be ok…" he heard repeated again and again. He decided that they needed more time alone before he should go back inside. He desperately wanted to spend time with his mother, but Azula needed her a thousand times more just then. Zuko contented himself by leaving the hut to go for a walk around the village.

:z:u:a:

It was dusk now. He neared the shabby hut, now glowing orange from the sunset. Perhaps he could go inside now. Although he knew Azula needed her mother, he wanted to help her too. She was his sister and he loved her.

He paused outside the door again. He took a deep breath, and turned the door knob. Slowly it creaked open and he cautiously poked his head inside. Azula and his mother were together in a heap on the floor. Azula face was buried in his mother's chest. She was not crying anymore, but completely silent. His mother was rubbing a caressing hand up and down her back and through her hair.

"Mother?" he whispered. She hushed him.

"I think she's asleep," she whispered in return.

"I can help you set her on the couch." His mother paused. She seemed to be contemplating, but then she nodded. Zuko lifted up her legs and his mother lifted her upper body. He could see her face was puffy and red. He set her legs down on the couch, and his mother sat down on the couch with a pillow in her lap and rested Azula's head on it. She continued stroking her hair.

"I can make us something to eat…since you obviously can't move."

"Yes…that would be nice, Zuko."

Zuko went to bed later that night feeling hopeful. Azula might wake up in the morning a happier person. She might even go through the same type of transformation he did, where he was in bed, sick for days. His mother would help her through it just as his uncle had helped him.

:z:u:a:

A couple days later Zuko neared the hut in mid afternoon. He had just returned from the market, heavy bag in hand. He walked inside the hut contented.

He nearly dropped his bag. Azula had woken up. He was right about her going through a transformation. For the last couple of days she'd been sick with a fever. She looked the same as he did when he was going through his transformation, so he was sure that's what was happening to her.

She was sitting next to her mother on the couch, leaning against her chest. Her mother had a long, slender arm wrapped around her shoulders. Azula was smiling weakly.

"Azula! You're awake!" he rushed over to her and hugged her. She didn't hug him back, but she didn't resist him, so that was an improvement. He pulled away. She would need time, he realized. But she was definitely on the right path.

Over the next couple days, Azula didn't say much, but she rarely left her mother's side. It was almost like she was a tiny child, helpless without her mother to protect her. But Zuko knew better. Azula was the best firebender in the entire world. Based solely on skill, she surpassed even him. Azula would grow eventually into a whole new person, just as he had in the last few months. Soon, he hoped, they could be a happy family again.

AN: I think Zuko would have done that for Azula. Zuko is a good person, so I don't think he would've just abandoned her and let her go completely insane and miserable. I think the future is hopeful for Azula.

Reviews appreciated!!