I. Serendipity

Katara couldn't find Aang. It was the day after Zuko's coronation, and Katara had hoped to have a quiet lunch with Aang in one of the palace gardens. Aang hadn't shown, which wasn't like him, and Katara was starting to worry, as was her instinct with Aang. She had asked a servant to send for her if Aang came to the garden and decided to go look for him. At first, she was worried. But with each step she became more annoyed. She had made it clear to him, she had thought. And as her boyfriend, she had thought he would have jumped at the chance to be alone with her. So, his absence made no sense.

As she turned another corner, she came upon an unfamiliar door. She started to walk past the door to continue her search, when she realized she had no idea where she was. Now she was frustrated and angry with herself for getting lost. And, to top that, there were no servants around. Not one. She stood there for a moment, contemplating her options. Finally, she decided to retrace her steps. She turned around and came face-to-face with the unfamiliar door. Katara's anger and annoyance vanished as her inner curiosity took over. She reached out to touch the plain, wooden door, and to her astonishment, it swung inward without a sound.

The room seemed plain to her, almost as if it didn't fit in with the rest of the Fire Nation Palace. But there was something special in this plain room. Propped up against the back wall, there was a painting. This painting showed a beautiful woman embracing a young boy by a pond of turtleducks. Katara thought he looked familiar, but she couldn't figure out the boy's identity. She sat down in front of the painting to get a better look. The boy looked so familiar…

"Katara?"

Katara spun around to see Zuko standing in the doorway with a confused expression on his face. "Zuko! I-I got lost and found this room and, uh…" Even to her ears her voice sounded pathetic. She winced and then looked to Zuko's face. He was staring past her at the painting with a faraway look in his eyes, almost as if… And then it hit her. "Oh, Zuko, is this you?" she asked, pointing to the boy. He looked at her and inclined his head in a nod before he came into the room and sat beside her so she could only see the unscarred side of his face.

Neither of them broke the silence for a few moments. Katara eventually said, "She's very beautiful."

"Yeah, she was." He paused, "She was kind to everyone and always helped me out." He paused again, "If only she could help me now."

"Zuko," Katara began, "you're doing fine. In just one day, you've managed to inspire people of all four nations to help rebuild the world. You've only been the ruler of a nation for one day, and you've already changed the path of the world. Zuko, that's amazing for anyone to accomplish in a year. Besides, you have Iroh and the rest of us to help you if you need it."

Zuko sighed. "I know. I just…miss her."

"I know Zuko, I know."

They sat in silence once more, each person thinking of their own mother. This time, Zuko broke the silence, "Do you ever wonder what life would be like if she were still here?"

"All the time. I always used to wonder what I would have been doing if she were there to do the laundry and clean. I always wished I didn't have to act like a mother when I didn't have one myself."

Zuko smirked and replied, "Yeah. You always acted like the mother of our group." A few more moments of silence commenced before Zuko continued, "I used to wish my mother had still been with me when I was thirteen. If she had been there, maybe…" he trailed off into contemplative silence, raising hand to his scarred cheek.

"Maybe what, Zuko?" Katara quietly asked.

Zuko hesitated in replying and said softly, "Maybe she could've stopped this."

Katara was speechless for about three seconds before she exclaimed, "No!"

Zuko's head jerked up and his eyes shot to her face, and she could see the angry set of his jaw. "What? You think I deserved this ugly aberration?"

"No, that's not what I meant at all!" She defended. Upon seeing him open his mouth again, she plunged ahead, "What I meant was it makes you Zuko!" She closed her eyes and winced, waiting for his sure-to-be-angry response. But it never came. Katara opened her eyes to see Zuko gaping at her. Once their eyes met, Zuko looked away and settled his gaze on the painting once more.

"I came to this room seeking help from my mother's spirit. But what I found was you." Zuko's eyes met Katara's and she could see the slightest quirk of his lips into a small smile of gratitude. "Thanks Katara. That means a lot, coming from you."

She smiled in return, "You're welcome Zuko."