Author's notes- hey everyone! I went back and edited the previous chapter, so you may want to read it over. This chapter is going to be switching points of view a couple of times, but it'll be easy to keep up with. Thanks for reading, and enjoy! Let me know what y'all think!

Sokka looked around the halls, not finding his sister at her locker. Where could she be? He knew she was too much of a goody goody to even think about skipping school, so something had to be up.

"Hey Sokka!" Aang's peppy voice called out, gaining Sokka's attention. "Where's Katara?"

"Don't know don't care." He may have said that, but he was getting worried about his baby sister.

"I haven't seen her all day. Usually she stops at her locker and makes sure Toph gets to class okay, but she hasn't." Aang's big gray eyes grew even bigger and his expression dropped, much like it did when he was worried.

Sokka felt a pair of lips press against his cheek. "Hey Sokka." Suki said, her hand finding his and squeezing.

"I'm sure she's just caught in traffic or something. If I see her, I'll send her right to you, okay?"

"Okay! Thanks Sokka!" The younger boy smiled and raced off around the hall.

"Who are you sending to him?"

"Katara. She hasn't been at school yet today."

"That's unusual for her, she's always here."

"I'm worried about her." Sokka crossed his arms, staring out of a window overlooking the highway.

"I'm sure she's okay. I mean, it's Katara. I'm sure she just got caught up or stopped to help some elderly people cross the street."

"I'm sure you're right." Sokka smiled and captured Suki's lips in a kiss.

Zuko couldn't have been happier to see the name of the clinic as he half dragged his uncle towards the building.

"Zuko, you have to take Miss Katara home."

He clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on his uncle's arm. "I can't do that uncle. She'll send the cops on us."

"It's the right thing to do, nephew."

"I know, Uncle. I screwed up. Now I don't know what to do to fix it."

The duo entered the clinic, finding a new aroma to fill their senses. People scurried about or sat in chairs, noses buried in magazines or books.

"Hi, welcome to the Southern Clinic, can I do anything for you?" A young girl with long brown hair braided down her back smiled at them, standing with her hands clasped in front of her.

"We were told to come see Kanna."

"Oh, who sent you?"

"Katara."

The girl's face lit up. "Oh, you know Katara? That's lovely! Right this way, I'll take you to Kanna."

Zuko and his uncle followed the young girl closely as she led them through the hall, turning right towards the end.

"Master Kanna, there are some people here to see you."

An elderly woman stood wearing a blue robe, holding a small clear vial in her hand. She looked up at the trio in the room with her. "Who sent them?"

"Katara did."

The woman's face softened. "Very well. Sit down and I will see to you. Thank you, Maylee."

Zuko helped his uncle to a chair and sat down beside him.

"Did Katara say what she thought was the problem with you mister..." Kanna's long white hair was braided back as well as Maylee's.

"Call me Iroh. Katara said she knew what it was, but she did not know the name."

Kanna pressed her hand to his forehead, pulling back moments later. "You're fevered. Have you been coughing, feeling weak?"

"For a couple days now." He nodded.

"I know what this is. I would like to keep you overnight, just in case." Kanna turned to a cabinet, pulling a small bowl and some herbs and placing it on the table.

"So he's going to be okay?" Zuko asked, perched on the edge of his seat.

"He'll be just fine." She smiled, turning to Iroh. "I'll have Maylee take you to a room."

"How much do I owe you?" Zuko stood, reaching in his pocket to retrieve his wallet.

"Nothing." The woman replied simply. "If Katara sent you, I know what it means."

Zuko's eyes widened. "Are-are you sure?"

Kanna smiled brightly at him. "Katara is a very smart girl. She only sends me the people who are good and desperately need help but cannot afford to get what they need."

Good? The word bounced around in Zuko's ears. She wouldn't be saying that if she knew her granddaughter was being held captive by yours truly. He thought, flinching against his own thought.

"Th-thank you so much, Kanna."

Maylee, the girl who brought them here, appeared in the doorframe. Iroh pushed himself to his feet shakily and stood with the aid of his nephew. Maylee took his arm and escorted him from the room.

"Do you have a way of contact in case something should happen to him?"

Zuko flinched. "Uh, yeah." Kanna handed him a scrap of paper and a pen. He quickly scribbled down his number and handed the items back to Kanna.

"I'll call you when you need to come pick him up. I don't think I caught your name."

"Li." It was always the cover name he used, only Iroh knew his real name.

"Your uncle will be back to his normal self by morning, Li. Have a good day."

"You too." Zuko took the same path out of the building.

It was no secret that Zuko was beating himself up for his actions. He'd only stolen from the bank to get the money to take his uncle to the doctor, but it ended up that he hadn't even needed it. He also did not need to take Katara hostage.

Katara.

She was still back at their home, if that's what you would call it. She was most likely terrified, maybe even crying. But there was something about her that he found intriguing.

Katara did not cry, nor did she show fear. She asked very little questions and cooperated with everything he said. Hell, she even told him where to take Iroh. She was being helpful to them both, even though Zuko had done her wrong.

Also, Zuko couldn't deny that he thought Katara was beautiful. He shook his head, remembering that he needed to bring her back food. Zuko felt that Katara did not trust him, but how could he blame her? He did take her hostage and had refused to let her leave.

Zuko did not know what food she liked, or if she was allergic to anything. He doubted she would even eat should he bring food to her. Somehow, some way, he had to convince her that he wasn't going to hurt her.

He decided in bringing her pizza. No meat on it, just cheese. Hopefully she would eat it. The journey back to his home was quick. He used the back entrance, the one Katara had not known about. It was hidden behind an old machine in the factory, out of sight unless you knew where it was or if you were right on it.

Zuko closed the door quietly and began walking towards the room where he left Katara. He paused at a table by the door, putting the blue mask back on to conceal his identity. When he entered the room, he caught the end of her scrambling towards the wall behind her. He tried not to flinch.

He took notice of the way her eyes looked red and puffy, how red the tip of her nose was. So she had been crying, but she'd just waited to be alone. He closed the door softly and turned to face her.

"I brought pizza." He stated, placing the box on the mattress in front of her.

"I'm not hungry." She said softly.

"I promise I didn't do anything to it." He sighed, squatting down at the foot of the mattress. "Look, Katara, I have no intentions on harming you. I just want to try and keep you well while you're here with me."

"Why do I have to stay here?"

"Because, you'll go home and you'll tell the cops where my uncle and I are staying, and then we won't have a place to live. This is our home."

Something in her eyes shifted. "I won't tell anyone. I just want to go home."

Zuko felt conflicted. He wanted to let her go, even take her home himself. But, he had to protect his uncle. His uncle came before everything.

"I can't let you yet. I'm sorry." He shifted so that he sat on his backside, his knees tucked to his chest with his arms wrapped around his shins. "I can't even begin to describe how I sorry I am for taking you. I had to help my uncle, and we don't have the money to get help, so I did what I had to do."

"You care about him a lot."

"He's all I have." He said gravely.

Katara reluctantly moved away from the wall, sitting a little closer to the man in front of her. She wondered what had happened to the rest of his family, and she also wondered what he looked like under the blue mask. Was he closer to her age or was he older?

"I will make it up to you." Her attention snapped up to him. "I don't know how, but I swear, I will make this up to you."

Katara could almost feel how sincere the man's apology was. She felt it in the way he said it, the way he'd mentioned over and over how much he'd screwed up by taking her. But yet, with all this information, she still feared him. She feared what he would do to her, what he was capable of doing. He was bigger than her, and most likely stronger than her as well. He was also rather quick, and it would be nearly impossible for her to slip by him.

Upon discovering she was lost in thought and the man was staring at her, Katara's face turned red. She ran her hands through her hair, looking anywhere but at the masked man. Her eyes settled on the black backpack that he'd had with him when he brought her here.

"What?" He seemed utterly shocked.

"You said you wanted to make things up to me, right?" The man nodded slowly. "Then take the money back. And I'm not saying to go in the bank and say 'Oh I'm terribly sorry that I robbed you'. Just leave it on the doorstep or something."

Zuko's jaw dropped beneath the mask. What was with this girl? She didn't trust him to eat the food he'd brought, specifically for her, but yet, it seemed like she didn't want him to get caught? And she'd even helped him get his uncle to someone-

Uncle!

Katara knew that Iroh would need him. That's why she didn't want him to get caught.

How the hell could she be so nice to him? He took her hostage, for god's sake! He was keeping her there against her will, and she was trying to help him?

"So," her soft voice said, snapping him from his thoughts, "are you going to take it back?"

"In the morning, just before opening." At her confused look, he continued. "If I take it now, someone will see a backpack full of money and take it."

"Right." She was still nervously playing with her hair. Zuko decided that it was a nervous tick of hers, as his was clenching and unclenching his fists.

Katara was still glancing around the room, when she noticed that he hadn't locked the door this time. If she could just get past him, maybe she could squeeze through that hole in the wall.

"Will you please eat?" Her eyes snapped to him, watching as he inched the pizza box closer to her. "I swear on my uncle's life that I didn't do anything to it."

She was about to refuse when her stomach growled loudly. Her face turned red and the man chuckled lowly. With a soft sigh, she reached for the pizza box, tipping the lid back and taking a slice. She took one bite of it, then another, and before she knew it, the whole thing was gone.

"I thought you weren't hungry." The man said with an almost teasing tone.

Once she ate another slice, she yawned, stretching her arms over her head.

"You can sleep in that room. It's where my uncle stays."

She was about to protest to sleep in that room, but she realized he was trying to keep her away from the door. As if she could even get out with the key in his pocket. "Where is your uncle?"

"Kanna wanted to keep him overnight."

"Oh." An uncomfortable silence fell over them.

"When will I go home?" Katara asked softly.

"I don't know." The man replied.

"Can I at least know your name?"

The man fell silent. "Not yet."

Katara groaned inwardly. She pushed herself to her feet and walked towards the room.

"Goodnight Katara." The man's voice took on a tone that Katara hadn't heard before. She paused in the doorframe, glancing over her shoulder at the man.

With a sigh she walked in the room, not taking in its appearance, landing face first on a mattress shoved against the wall, curling her knees to her chest and hoping sleep would take her quickly.