I do not own Avatar or any of its characters.

Against Her Will

They had been flying on Appa's back for some time now and Katara was beginning to feel the strain from the past day catching up to her. Healing always took energy from her leaving her feeling weak and in need of rest, but there had been no time for rest after she had tended to Zuko. The Fire Nation was after them yet again and they all had to clear out quickly before they were caught in another battle.

Sokka, Toph, and the Earth King had gone with her father and his men. They were headed for the southern end of the Earth Kingdom. The plan was that her brother and friend would head to Omashu and find King Bumi. The crazy old king had told Aang the last time he had seen him that he was waiting for the right moment to make his move. Katara hoped that now was the right moment. Things had become pretty desperate and they needed everyone that they could find to help them when the eclipse occurred.

Her father and his men had the task of bringing the Earth King to meet up with General Fong at the Earth Kingdom base just north of Omashu. Their plan was to gather their forces using the base as the center of operations. Once the king was settled in Hakoda planned to head north to enlist the help of the Northern Water Tribe. The hope was that with their sister tribe by their side as well as any Earth Kingdom forces they could gather, they would be able to invade the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun and defeat the Fire Lord once and for all.

The eclipse was eight weeks away. That gave Aang a little over a month to master fire bending before they needed to rendezvous with her father at the base. Originally the plan had not included mastering the last element; Aang had no master to teach him. But on the shore that afternoon Iroh had made a plea with the Avatar to take him and Zuko with him and had promised that in exchange he would teach the boy fire bending. Aang had not been immediate in his response. He had weighed the information along with recent events but in the end he trusted Iroh. Zuko was an entirely different story and neither he nor Katara had wanted to bring the prince with them. Iroh though wouldn't leave his nephew and Aang reluctantly agreed to take them both.

She was not happy with the decision. Though she had just healed him moments before she was still too leery of Zuko to want to have him with her and Aang for an indefinite period of time. Sokka of course had been livid. He refused to let them take the two fire benders with them. He didn't think the risk was worth it. She agreed with her brother but surprisingly her father felt differently. Hakoda pointed out that even if the Avatar could not use fire bending on the day of the eclipse he should still master it so that he could become fully realized and fulfill his destiny. The world had waited too long for his return and they couldn't let personal feelings or fears, no matter how grounded in truth, keep that from happening.

She understood what her father was saying but it didn't make taking Zuko along any easier. Still they had loaded him on Appa's back and then taken off. After just a brief time with her father she was leaving him again. The tears she refused to shed burned her eyes but she would not let her feelings get the best of her, especially in front of other people. She longed to be with her brother and father but she knew that Aang needed her more. He was still weak from the blast he took from Azula and even though the water from her amulet had restored him to life he still had a burn mark on his back that was not yet completely healed. Leaving him alone with the two fire benders would have been foolish and so she had come to care for him and protect him as well.

Now she sat on Appa's back staring at her enemy, refusing to let the sleep that she so desperately desired overtake her tired body. Iroh sat towards the middle of the bison's back. He clutched tightly to the animal's fur with one hand while the other grasped firmly to his nephew. Zuko had never regained consciousness after she had healed him. He lay on Appa's back oblivious to what was occurring around him. Occasionally he moaned in his sleep and a few times he had cried out begging someone not to leave him. Who that person was she didn't know but the words had seemed to distress his uncle. He held the boy tightly and spoke soothing words to him. His face was pale and his eyes were red from crying. It was obvious that he loved Zuko but Katara couldn't understand why. The prince had completely betrayed the old man back in Ba Sing Se. And then to top it off he was bringing Iroh to the Fire Nation to face death or imprisonment at the hands of the Fire Lord. Still Iroh was loyal to Zuko. Pleading for his life. Begging her to heal him and then take him with them.

He had told her that if they left Zuko behind Azula would kill him. In fact he had gathered information from a soldier still loyal to him on board Zuko's ship that the princess had planned to turn her brother over as well once they reached the fire nation. The plan had been to let the prince believe that he was returning home to reclaim his honor but once they docked in the port of the capital the soldiers would overpower him and deliver both Zuko and Iroh to the Fire Lord. It was never Ozai's intention to restore his son's honor. Azula had played her brother for the fool and Zuko had let her.

But none of that mattered anymore. Everything had changed when her father's men had taken down his ship earlier in the day. Whatever plans Azula had for him were history now. Zuko had unknowingly been rescued from his sister's clutches by the people who hated him almost as much as she did. Personally she thought it very fitting that the betrayer was going to be betrayed himself. Azula and Zuko deserved each other as they were both backstabbing, manipulative liars.

As she continued to watch the two fire benders she could feel her eyes start to droop. She was tired and if she wasn't careful she was going to fall off of Appa. Slowly she crawled towards Aang. He sat in his usual spot on the bison's head. Moving to the space next to him she smiled and said, "I'm fading fast. If I don't shut my eyes for a few minutes I'm going to be useless latter."

"It's no problem Katara. I'm fine and I really don't think that Iroh and Zuko are going to be any trouble. Catch a little sleep and I'll wake you if I need you." He smiled at her and she felt some of her anger from earlier leave her.

"Thanks Aang." She said and then leaning slightly against him she fell asleep.

When she awoke the sky was beginning to darken and the air had taken on a slight chill. How long had she slept, she wondered? Could it really be night already? She turned to Aang and noticed that her friend looked exhausted. Concern for him made her anxious. In her need for sleep she had neglected to consider how he felt. He was not quite well yet and could become ill if he wasn't careful.

"Aang are you ok?" she asked with alarm in her voice.

He smiled at her and said, "I could use a little sleep myself but I'm fine." He took in her concerned look and added, "Really Katara, I'm ok."

"Well we should probably land soon anyways before we run out of daylight."

"I agree with you on that. Let me look for a spot to land and we can set up camp."

She glanced back at Iroh and Zuko and noticed that the old man looked worse than any of them. He was still clutching fiercely to his nephew but his eyes were heavy and his breathing was becoming a little too steady. If he fell asleep Aang would be out a master to teach him. There was no way that he was going to hold on to Appa and the prince.

She turned back to Aang. "We should really land now. I don't think that Iroh is going to stay awake too much longer himself."

Aang nodded and eased Appa down. He found a place within a grove of trees that offered them protection and shelter. Landing the bison he hopped down and stretched. Katara looked to Iroh and noticed that he was having difficulty moving Zuko. She worked her way to where he was and holding out her hand said simply, "Here, let me help you up. You go ahead and I'll take Zuko."

"But he's too heavy for you alone to carry." The old man said.

"Believe me I've carried heavier things and besides neither you nor Aang are in any condition to be dragging him about. Please just let me do this for you?"

Iroh smiled at her and said, "Thank you Katara. Not just for this but for everything. I know that my nephew has caused you much suffering. It was very kind of you to help us."

It wasn't my choice, she said to herself. If it had been up to her Zuko would be in his sister's custody now. Still she liked Iroh and she didn't want to insult him. So she kept silent. She went to kneel behind the prince. Hooking her arms under his arm pits she went to stand. As soon as her skin made contact with his though she noticed that he was burning up. How long had he had this fever she wondered? She had healed his wounds but sometimes infection could still set in. She would deal with his fever after she got him settled in.

She went to stand, pulling him with her as she did. He let out a groan as if in pain. As she pulled him close she felt something wet against her stomach. Looking down she noticed blood on Appa's fur and she could only imagine that her dress was now wet with it as well. She gently eased him back down and rolled him onto his right side. As she moved aside what was left of his shirt she noticed a small puncture wound. She couldn't believe that she had missed it earlier but she had been rushed. She uncapped her water skin and pulled some water out. As she set about healing the wound she noticed that the sight of the injury was pretty dirty and she now understood the reason for the fever. He had an infection all right and it was because she had been distracted by her anger at him that she had missed the wound that was its source.

She placed the water against his skin and he flinched when it made contact. "Stay still," she whispered, "You've got a wound that needs healing. Let me do this and then we can get you down and somewhere a little more comfortable."

After healing him she slowly rose to her feet again. Mustering all her strength she managed to drag him to a spot that Iroh had set up for him. As she laid him down she told the old man about Zuko's injury.

"You need to get some sleep." She said after she told him, "I'll keep an eye on Zuko through the night. In the morning we can look for some herbs that may help him fight this infection. Hopefully the fever will ease on its own."

His uncle seemed relieved by her comments and gratefully fell onto his mat next to his nephew. Within minutes the fire bender was asleep.

She sat quietly next to Zuko. Aang had managed to find some wood and started a fire. Sitting across from her he asked, "How are you doing Katara? You seem… I don't know… just not yourself."

She didn't want to burden him with her feelings so she replied, "I just miss Sokka and my dad. I wish we could have gone with them."

"I'm sorry Katara but I need to do this. I never meant for you to have to suffer for it though."

"I know that learning fire bending is important to you Aang and really it's ok."

"Well actually the fire bending isn't the only reason I was not going to join you guys until later. I have some unfinished business to attend to."

She stared at him and then asked, "Aang where exactly are we going?"

He got a wistful expression and then said, "To my first home. Where I met Appa and started to learn about air bending. I need to see the Guru. We have much to discuss."

"The Eastern Air Temple?" she asked.

He nodded and said, "It's well protected and I should be able to learn fire bending in peace. Hopefully Azula knows nothing about it. Still if she comes for us we will be able to see her well in advance. We should be just fine."

So she would finally meet this guru that Aang had gone to meet when he left Ba Sing Se. She wondered what he was like. She also wondered what would happen once they arrived. They planned to stay for almost a month. She didn't know if she could take Zuko for that long but she really didn't want him anywhere near Aang while he was training.

She glanced down at the prince. Of course he had to survive this fever. Guilt nagged at her conscience. She should have seen that wound. He could die and then it would be her fault. As a healer she should have put aside everything else and focused on the task at hand.

Removing what was left of his tattered shirt she gently placed a blanket over him and began to tear strips from the cloth. She soaked them in water and then cooled them with her bending. She laid a wet cloth on his forehead. There was little more that she could do for now. Tomorrow she would look for those herbs she had mentioned to Iroh. If they could brew them into a tea for him to drink it would help him recover quicker.

She gave a look back over at Aang and saw that he had fallen asleep already. She smiled, glad that he was resting. Beside her she heard Zuko moaning again as he tossed about.

"Please don't leave me." He pleaded again. "Please don't go."

She couldn't help but feel pity for him. She reached out and righted the cloth that had fallen from his forehead. With the back of her hand she felt his unscarred cheek. He was burning hotter than before. The realization that he might just die hit her hard and somewhere deep inside of her she couldn't help but feel panic. As much as she hated him she still didn't want him to die.

"Please don't leave me." He rasped again.

The sadness in his tone tore at her heart and without thought she said softly, "It's ok Zuko. I won't leave you." Just don't leave me she thought. She shook her head as if to dislodge the traitorous thought. She didn't care for him. She wouldn't care for him. He had hurt her once and she would never let him close enough to do it again.

As she looked at his face she noticed a calm expression where before had been fear. Her words had connected with his fevered mind and she had helped to ease his pain. Suddenly the tears that she had been holding back all day started to fall. They ran down her cheeks and splashed onto his face. He never noticed and she was thankful for that. She sat back and pulled her legs against her chest. Gently she rocked back and forth letting the tears come. All the pain from Ba Sing Se; Jet's death, Zuko's betrayal, Aang's injury and near death experience, and finally parting ways with her brother and father washed through her. It felt good to let it out. It felt good to feel something besides anger again, even it was only pain.