The second chapter is up! Haha yeah yeah it's a day early but you guys like it better that way, right? lol (On my profile I've said that I usually upload on Wednesdays) If it's too long, sorry! And thank you so much to Julymoon for the advice and to Darkness Inside, an anonymous reader, Ruby of Raven, and DeadlyAssult for reviewing and giving me a reason to continue! :D free cake for all of you!

Arigatou, ne! Reviews with criticism is very helpful and appreciated, and, as always, completely optional :)

Disclaimer: Not mine (as of now...mwahahahahahahahahahaaaa! just kidding, it never will be)

Zuko returned to the ship, yelling orders and telling his crew a very short version of what happened. Iroh walked up on deck and sleepily rubbed his eyes.

"What is all of this about, nephew? Why—" he looked down and saw Katara. His face turned grim. He took Zuko's arm and partially dragged him to the Infirmary. The old general opened the door and hurried them in. The doctor looked up in surprise at the sudden intrusion, and his eyes widened at the reason why they had come.

"By Agni…"

Zuko set Katara gently down on the table.

"What can heal her?" he asked, worried. He had not heard from his friend for months, and finding her chained in a pirate ship was more than enough to make him worry. The doctor looked at her wounds. There were whip marks, evidence of flogging, scratches, puncture wounds; her feet looked raw and were covered in blisters, and her arms had rope marks on them: she had been tied up, and very tightly. The doctor took out several medicines, gauzes, bandages, and a large bucket each of water and ice. He warmed the water with fire from his hand. He washed his hands using a clean, damp towel, and was about to begin treating her wounds when there was a sudden loud noise, with several yells joining it. A soldier limped to the open door.

"Pirates… attack…wounded…" he panted, leaning against the door frame. Iroh and the doctor looked alarmed.

"Nephew, you stay here and watch your friend, we will go up there and fight off the pirates!" Iroh yelled, and all three men left, with the doctor carrying a medicinal bag. Zuko sat down and crossed his arms. Damn pirates, he thought, but he knew that he must not go up, because if he were captured… Zuko shuddered. There would be another war, this time for the throne, as Zuko was not married and had no children. Mai had left him for another man, breaking up with him a week after they had gotten back together. Zuko glared at the wall, recalling how Mai had casually left him. She had no idea how much that hurt, thought Zuko. He was startled as Katara began to move, groaning in pain.

He rolled up his sleeves, cleaned his hands, and began washing Katara's wounds gently with a clean, warm, damp towel. He grimaced at her winces; he knew how it must feel.

"I'm so sorry Katara" he whispered as he rubbed medicine into her wounds. Katara's eyes opened at the sound of her name, and she looked ready to scream from the sting. But when she saw Zuko's face, she relaxed slightly, but whimpered from the pain.

"…Zu…ko…Zu…I…" Zuko smiled gently at her, and held her hand.

"Don't worry Katara, you'll be okay, just hold on," he said softly, stroking her hair, hoping to calm her down. She quieted down, but held his hand tightly. The Fire Lord deftly began bandaging her arm and wrist wounds with one hand (having had plenty of experience during the War), not wanting to loosen Katara's hold on his left hand, but eventually having to. He hoped she could not hear the sounds of fighting from the upper deck as he bound ice packs to her feet. She flinched from the pain and sudden cold, but did not cry. After she was all patched up (Zuko had asked her to roll over onto her stomach so that he could treat her back; the scars were hideous and he had felt another surge of anger at the pirates), he carried her to his room and laid her onto his bed.

"Here are some clothes, I'm sorry, but they're all I have, do you think you can dress yourself?" he asked as he handed her one of his shirts and a pair of pants. She nodded, smiling, whispering "Thank you" to him as he closed the door. Zuko sat in the hallway and sighed, rubbing his temples. The pirates had attacked the ship, but his men had won and there were no casualties, only a whole lot of scratches on the hull. The pirates were arrested and a fourth of his men had invaded the pirate ship, and were currently sailing the people home. Zuko looked at his hands and rested his head against the wall of the corridor. Katara was there. Why was Katara there? he wondered. He knew from several encounters that she was very tough to beat, and that she could take care of herself and did not like being suppressed. She had been so weak, there in the Infirmary. He had been shocked. It was almost like the Katara he knew had been driven deep into her mind; she would not speak above a whisper. But she was recovering very quickly, he noted. Zuko supposed that seeing him and escaping had probably shocked her, so, since she had little strength due to malnourishment, she had fainted. He frowned. That didn't explain her whispering…he whirled around as his door opened suddenly. Katara smiled slightly at him, wearing his crimson shirt and black pants. Her hair was down, wavy and dark, but it was in want for a wash. Zuko looked at her for a moment, his mouth slightly opened, until he remembered himself and quickly stood up, banging his head on the door handle. Katara giggled softly. Zuko grinned, wincing a little, but managed to look fine as he escorted Katara to the dining room. Iroh was already there with lots of hot food. Katara gazed in wonder at all the food, not having seen more than a loaf of bread to be shared among all of the captives per week, and looked at Zuko for some sign of approval. He nodded and led her to a chair. She smiled her thanks at him and began to eat hungrily. Zuko stood shocked for a moment, his eyes wide, but then recovered himself and sat at his chair at the head of the table (he was, after all, Fire Lord). There were two loaves of bread, three kinds of soups and stews, a fruit basket, a plate of grilled meats, some chopped vegetables, a few bowls of rice, moon-peach wine, crystal clear water, and a bowl of something mushy-looking. Iroh looked slightly alarmed and amused. "Miss Katara, you must slow down! You will make yourself sick if you eat too fast!" Katara heard him, grinned sheepishly, and slowed down. Fire Lord Zuko looked oddly at the bowl of… whatever it was, and offered it to Katara. She looked at it in curiosity.

"What is it?" she asked, with her head to the side. Zuko blushed bright red, almost matching his robes.

"I—, er… it's… they're sea prunes! My Uncle, uh, found them at a stall, and, um, bought them. I tried to stew them, like I knew you liked…" he trailed off, looking away, obviously embarrassed. Katara beamed.

"Zuko, that's so kind of you!" she said, softly, although it was obvious that she was trying to exclaim it louder. She took the bowl and looked at it, then, using her fork, placed it into her mouth and began to chew thoughtfully. Her face changed into something unreadable, and Zuko began worrying. Katara swallowed, and looked at him gratefully. "It tastes wonderful!" she said, then added: "but it tastes different from the Southern Water Tribe style. More like Northern Water Tribe style…" but Zuko looked happy all the same. She had liked it and that was all that matters. But then Katara's face fell.

"Miss Katara, what's wrong?" asked General Iroh. Katara sniffled and dabbed at her eyes with a napkin.

"It's just, eating these reminds me of my home, and, and when I think of that, I think of what happened, and the pirates, and, and—" she broke down crying. Iroh looked grave.

"I think dinner's over." Zuko looked at his uncle, who nodded and began clearing up the table. The Fire Lord gently picked up Katara bridal style and carried her back to his room. Opening the door, he found her old, dirty gray robe that she was wearing on the ship folded neatly and lying innocently on the floor of his cabin. He set her down on his bed and kneeled, picking up the offensive garment. He looked her in the eye and asked her, "Katara, may I burn this?" She nodded her head violently 'yes'.

"Please. Destroy it, burn it, and curse it to Koh," she said. Zuko nodded and walked out.

Katara calmed herself down, but started to hiccup. She cursed herself angrily. Here you are in Fire Lord Zuko's room, and you're crying like a child! Dinner was ruined because of you, how thoughtless! Her self-chastising was interrupted by Zuko who had returned, holding a napkin.

"Here, Katara," he offered, but was almost knocked off his feet when Katara ran to him, hugging his waist tightly. "Woah, Katara, let me breathe!" he joked. It worked. She accepted the napkin and smiled through blurry, red-rimmed eyes at him.

"Thanks, Zuko." He noticed that her voice was getting stronger. He smiled, and turned and closed the door. Katara looked confused. "Zuko, what are you—" he held a single finger up.

"I want to ask you a few questions. If I thought letting you sleep and asking you tomorrow would be less painful to you, I would, believe me. But I know it'll be worse. So I'm asking you now. I'm sorry." Katara shook her head again.

"No, no; it's fine, I'll *hiccup* be okay, what is it you want to know?" Zuko took a deep breath.

"Did the pirates dishonor you?" he asked, worry evident in his eyes. Katara started to laugh slightly hysterically.

"Is this what that was all about? You close the door, look so serious, like someone died, and make me think you want me to tell you some war-secret of the pirates and you ask me if I was dishonored? Zuko, that *hiccup* is so kind of you!" she said through her tears. Zuko was suddenly defensive.

"Yes, that was what it was all about, because what if you were raped? I would have to go kill every single pirate that forced himself on you, and then I'd have to worry about whether or not your health would be okay, or if you were pregnant, and if you think for one moment that I'm going to just let some filthy thief use and hurt one of my greatest friends—" he shook his head. "Well, I'm glad that you're okay. Now get some rest. You looked half dead when I found you." Katara blushed, but then looked around the room, confused.

"Zuko, where shall I sleep?" she asked hesitantly. He rolled his eyes.

"The bed. Duh. Silly, Katara, where did you think you'd sleep? On the floor?" Katara still looked puzzled.

"But then where will you sleep?" she asked. Zuko pointed to the carpet on the floor.

"There." She looked scandalized.

"You can't sleep on the floor!" Zuko looked down at her haughtily, challenging her.

"And why not? I am Fire Lord," he said haughtily, and both of them collapsed into fits of laughter at his mock-childishness. Katara wiped some tears of laughter from her eyes, but then turned serious again.

"But seriously. You shouldn't sleep on the floor." The Waterbender looked worried.

"Why not, Katara?" Zuko said, trying his best to look innocent.

"Well, because… because… um, because you'll catch cold," she said lamely, being unable to think of a better excuse. Zuko sighed and hit his palm against his forehead.

"Katara, I will be fine, I'm a Firebender: I have my own body heat. As for you, by Decree of the Fire Lord, you shall sleep on my bed, warm and without worries, because I will be right here, and no one, not even my uncle, has permission to enter my quarters without my saying so. And another thing: you're the only girl on this entire ship. I don't trust you to be in your own room by yourself, because, well, you're a girl, and I'm not trying to be sexist right now, and if I am I apologize, but these men have been at sea for a while, and… well, they might not be able to control themselves at the sight of a beautiful young lady in her room alone…" Katara blushed scarlet.

"Oh… well, thank you Zuko. I, um, well, I guess I'll go to sleep now," she said, and went to the bed. Climbing in with difficulty (she stubbornly refused help from Zuko), she lay in the middle of the bed, marveling at the softness of the mattress and covers. Zuko sat next to her and kissed her forehead softly, his lips ghosting her skin.

"Sweet dreams, Katara," he murmured softly, and grinned at her shock.

"Good night, Zuko," she said with a wistful, almost lovesick smile. She drifted off to sleep in what seemed like mere seconds, smiling softly again as she watched Zuko lay down to sleep on the carpet. As she welcomed the darkness that quietly engulfed her in a spell of deep, black sleep.

And then she screamed.