Katara found the physician's rooms fairly easily, hearing her brother complaining loudly from down the corridor. She inspected the space. A single row of beds lined the wall to the right, on the left were storage cupboards that reached to the ceiling. There were movable carts and small tables spaced out in the middle. Two more doors at the far side of the room were closed. When Lao saw her eyeing them, he informed her that they were for intensive care and surgeries. Katara nodded her thanks and sent him to get food for them.

"How did you do that?" She asked Sokka as she poked through cupboards.

"Oh, you know, hero stuff." He bragged.

"I'm glad our near death experience didn't affect your ego," Suki chimed in from beside him.

"I didn't hear you complaining when I saved you from- OW!" Sokka exclaimed when Suki smacked him on the back of his head.

"If I recall correctly, it was me who saved you from those soldiers."

Sokka's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "Yeah, maybe…" He admitted reluctantly.

Katara found everything she needed and moved where he was propped up with pillows on a bed. The sight reminded her of Zuko. Her small smile vanished and she hurried to remove the pant leg of Sokka's pants to get to the broken bone.

"Hey," Sokka said, wincing when she lifted his leg to remove cloth. "Are you okay?"

Katara remained focus on her task. "Yeah, I just need to make this quick so I can check on Zuko." She pulled water from her flask and inspected the damage.

"What happened?" Sokka continued. "He didn't look so good."

Katara sighed as she willed her water to mend the bone, it would still require a couple weeks of rest and healing. She turned her attention to her brother as she positioned the splint and began to wrap. "He saved my life." She hadn't said it out loud before now, but if she would be dead if it hadn't been for Zuko. Suki noticed her dejection and squeezed her fingers in comfort. Katara paused and closed her eyes, suddenly overcome with emotions.

"Uh… okay." Sokka commented.

Katara snapped back to herself and began to wrap his leg again, only tighter. "You don't understand," Katara explained. "If it weren't for Zuko, I would be dead right now. Azula shot lightning at me and he jumped in front of it. He wasn't able to redirect it correctly…" Katara finished wrapping and tied off the cloth. "It just barely missed his heart. And I don't know if I can fix it, and-"

"Woah, woah, woah." Sokka interrupted. "Slow down, Katara. You just healed my leg, I watched you heal Dad on the Day of Black Sun, and I've seen you bring Aang back to life. Zuko will be just fine."

"Your leg isn't completely healed. You still need to stay off of it for a couple weeks. But all of those times are so different from now. With Aang, I had Spirit Water." she argued. "I don't know what I'm doing!"

Sokka grabbed her shoulder and looked into her eyes. "Hey, you got this. For one, my leg feels ten times better than it did before. Virtually no pain!" He smiled at her in reassurance. "You're the greatest waterbender in the world- don't argue! You practically mastered it in the two months we were at the North Pole. Even Pakku said you were the best student he's ever trained."

"That doesn't make me a master healer," Katara said.

"No," Sokka admitted, "but it does mean you are the best hope for Zuko right now. Go check on him."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll take care of him," Suki said, motioning for her to leave, "go."

Katara squeezed her brother's hand and turned to the cupboard to find some medicines for sleep and pain relief. Armed with remedies and more bandages, she left for Zuko's room. She walked as quickly as her tired legs would carry her. It took her awhile to wind back through hallways to find the room Zuko was staying in. She had been surprised when Lao had mentioned the rooms near the physician's rooms were the royal apartments, and that the room Zuko was in were servants' rooms. But she understood when she walked past the opulent golden doors lining the hallway. She twisted around corners, going deeper into the palace.

She nodded to the two guards standing watch outside the door and pushed her way through, closing the door behind her. Zuko was sitting up, drinking from a wide bowl. She felt her chest lift in relief. If he was eating, he was getting better.

"How are you feeling?" She asked as she set the supplies on the bed at his feet. "I brought some medicines."

Zuko lowered the bowl from his mouth and let Khiem take it in his outstretched hands. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm fine."

"Until you convince me." Katara stated, grabbing the bottle with pain reliever and opening it. She pointed to a forgotten spoon on the tray of food. "Khiem, that spoon, please." The guard obeyed her immediately and she tipped a hefty amount onto it. " the pain." She handed the spoon to Zuko. He eyed it warily before taking it and swallowing the bitter liquid.

Katara moved to remove the bandage from his chest before she remembered a very important piece of information that he would want to know. She figured it would be better to just say it and get it over with. It wasn't a threat, just some information he would need. "Aang didn't kill your father," Katara said quickly.

"What?" Zuko exclaimed, jolting into an upright position and crying out in pain. He clutched his chest and winced. Katara knew instantly it was the wrong thing to do. She laid a hand on his shoulder to soothe him. She also noticed Khiem stiffen at the news.

"Relax," Katara told him. "He's subdued. Aang, Toph, and a handful of guards are escorting him and Azula to the tower prison. He's not a threat anymore. Aang found a way to take his bending away, apparently."

Zuko scrunched his face up in disbelief. "How… Nevermind. He's secure?"

Katara nodded.

Zuko turned to Khiem. "I want you to see to his and Azula's imprisonment. Multiple, rotating guards outside their cells at all times. Understood?"

"Yes, your majesty," Khiem bowed. "Right away." And with that Khiem was gone.

Zuko groaned and rubbed his forehead. "How long before that stuff kicks in?"

She frowned. "Should be just a few minutes. Let me check your bandages."

He waved her off. "I'm okay. Go check on the others."

"Sokka is the only other one that got hurt and there's nothing more I can do for him." Katara crossed her arms. "Let me take a look."

Zuko leaned back on the pillows and relented. "Fine." Katara sat on the edge of the bed and began to cut away the cloth.

"I don't understand why you're being so difficult about this," she mumbled.

He turned his head toward the wall, avoiding her eyes. "You shouldn't have to take care of me."

Katara tilted her head to the side, examining the now exposed wound on his chest. "I owe you." She said simply.

"No, you don't," Zuko said, grabbing her wrist and pushing it away from him. "It was my fault she went after you in the first place. I shouldn't have provoked her."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You are not responsible for her actions. Azula chose to break the rules of the Agni Kai."

"But if I hadn't-"

"No!" Katara said firmly. "This is not your fault, and I won't let you blame yourself. You were the one who got hurt. If it's anyone's fault it's mine for standing too close. Just let me try and fix it, please."

Zuko shook his head. "You're not to blame. You weren't part of the fight. She only attacked you because she knew I could redirect her lightning and she would have no defense for it. I shouldn't have brought you."

Katara raised her eyebrow and pulled her arm from his grasp. "How about we both stop trying to take the blame?" He nodded his agreement and she bent water to her hands and lowered them to the angry red tissue. She spent several minutes concentrating on healing him and wrapped it in fresh bandages. "If you take it easy, I shouldn't need to replace those anymore. I can feel that you're healing."

"Thank you," he replied quietly.

"You're the one who save my life, remember?" She said, gathering up the supplies on the bed.

"Couldn't let the Avatar's girlfriend die." He said a little louder, smiling.

"I'm not his girlfriend," she said before looking up to see he wasn't looking at her. She followed his line of sight to see Aang and Toph at the door. Aang looked at her with a wounded expression and she felt a pang of regret. He stormed out without a word and Katara whipped back around with narrowed eyes aimed at Zuko.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I thought-"

"Well, obviously, you thought wrong." Toph commented from across the room.

Katara sighed and got up from the bed. "I should go after him…" She said quietly, placing the healing supplies on a nearby dresser and heading to the door. Toph grabbed her arm as she walked past.

"Maybe you shouldn't." Toph advised. "It's been a long day for all of us. Everybody's emotions are out of whack."

Katara pulled her lips into a thin line and contemplated her friend's words. "If I don't, he'll think-"

"Let him." Toph interrupted, releasing her grip on her arm and leaning against the door frame. "You don't have to coddle him just to avoid hurting his feelings. That's not fair to him. To anyone."

"I'm not coddling him," Katara argued back. "I just don't want him thinking that I don't want to be with him. I'm just not ready for a relationship right now."

The earthbender rolled her eyes. "You can't lie to me, Sweetness."

"I wasn't lying." Katara said, narrowing her eyes.

"I have a built in lie detector, remember." She reminded her, pointing to her feet. "Just tell Aang you don't want to be with him so he can stop talking about kissing you."

The waterbender took a deep breath and released it slowly. This was absurd! They only just ended a war. It's no time for new romances. Not when they had to subdue enemies and rebuild countries. But another part of her was concerned that Aang had a lot of growing up to do before she could see him in a romantic way.

"I don't want to hurt him," she confessed softly.

"Then you shouldn't have kissed him a few days ago! It's all he's been talking about since we left the Earth Kingdom."

Katara closed her eyes and groaned. "He kissed me… After I told him I wasn't looking for a relationship."

Toph raised her eyebrows. "Wow, okay…"

"You need to talk to him," Zuko spoke up from the bed. Katara stiffened. She had forgotten they were still in his room. She wasn't sure if she wanted romantic advice from and older boy. Sokka's track record suggested it would be unhelpful. Zuko continued, "He obviously needs to mature. As the Avatar, he is a powerful world figure. He should know that he can't put those beneath him in a situation where they would feel the need to comply."

Katara huffed. "I am not beneath him! Aang would never think of me that way!"

The firebender sighed and shifted in his bed. "It doesn't matter. He needs to understand that he can't initiate romantic situations. The Avatar is the most powerful being in the world. People will do what he says because of that power, regardless of if they want to do it or not."

"It's not like that between us." Katara told him again. "I would never do something I didn't want to do just because it was what he wanted."

"And I'm saying," Zuko said firmly, "that he needs to learn how to conduct himself as a world leader. It's dangerous and wrong for him to think you would want to kiss him and to do so after you refused him. He needs to learn this lesson before it becomes a bigger problem later on."

Katara sat there, stunned. In the last fews weeks of being around Zuko without actively hating him, she had noticed he was a decent person. But this?

"Wow, Sparky," Toph commented from the door. "That's some deep stuff. Maybe you should talk to him."

"I can," Zuko replied. "But he needs to hear from Katara that he was wrong to assume she would be interested."

Katara looked away, feeling nervous. How would Aang react? She didn't want to hurt him, but she also didn't want date. Not now. Not when they had so much to do and nothing figured out. "You're right," she finally said. I'm going to go talk to him. Than we can put it behind us and focus on what we need to do now."

"Good luck," Toph said with a grim smile before moving from the door frame to let her pass.

She smiled, "Thanks, Toph. You and Zuko should start figuring out what's next."

"Aye, aye, captain!" Toph said with a wide grin.

Katara took a deep breath and squared her shoulders before exiting the room. She looked left and right, unsure where Aang would have gone. She asked the guard and he pointed to the right, towards the garden where she had left Appa. Of course, she thought as she made her way outside.


AN: I hadn't planned on starting this story here. When I first started writing, it was ten years post-war. But I had always wondered what happened in those moments after the final battles and before the coronation. With a few minor adjustments, I combined the two ideas into one story! I also wanted to address something that had always bugged me in the series. I feel Aang's kiss on Ember Island needs to be addressed in a healthy manner before we go deeper into the story. I love Aang, and I realize that, as a 12 year old kid, he might not understand the implications of his actions. That's why I first started shipping Zutara- I felt Aang wasn't mature enough to date anyone by the end of the war. But I imagine Aang and Katara's dynamics are so cute when they are older(and similar to myself and my husband). But the Zutara fangs had already sunk in, so I'm going to stick with that.

Anyway, thank you for reading my story and I hope to have chapter 4 up by the end of this week, if not in a couple of days!