Katara went again that night to check on Azula. Her fever was dangerously high. She soaked some rags and laid them over her patient's forehead, then sat her up to pour some more soup down her throat. Then she laid her back down and tucked her into the blankets.

She would need someone to watch her day and night. Zuko surprised Aang and Katara when he volunteered to take the last night shift. By watching her as she slept it was a way he could help without having to interact with her. When it was over, he had all his appointments with his advisers canceled and went to lock himself in his bedchamber. Azula hadn't gotten any better overnight, and he wanted privacy while he processed the very real possibility his sister could die. Aang and Katara tried to talk to him but he didn't want their help.

Katara finally convinced him to come out later that afternoon when she needed help changing Azula's bandages.

Azula would not allow Katara to touch her hands. The moment Katara tried tugging at the soiled gauze Azula cried out. Even in her sickness she was capable of generating a strong, directed fire blast. She burned off the canopy of the bed and Katara had to rush to put it out before either of them were burned. Even an experienced healer sometimes needed a second pair of hands.

So Katara left Azula in her room and went to find Zuko. "Maybe you know how to calm her down," she said to him through his doorway.

Katara heard him sigh. "You want me to talk to her or something. It's not going to work. She can't tell reality from fantasy."

"Just calm her down. Comfort her or... You know her, you would know how to do that better than I would."

"Comfort her? You want me to what?"

"Just help me."

He sighed again and came to the door, without bothering to tie back his hair or change out of his pajamas. "I don't know how to do that any better than you do," he said. "I haven't spent real time with her since I was 13 years old, Katara. But I can help."

Azula sat up in bed, eying the locked door. She wanted to faint from the searing pain coming from her wrist where the peasant healer had tried to tear off the gauze. She could hardly move them. They were completely useless. They throbbed with pain. They actually hadn't stopped throbbing since she'd injured them. But they could still fire-bend, and though just sitting up made her light-headed, she would be ready to fight when Katara came back.

She would not allow the water-tribe peasant to touch her if she could help it.

"You have to understand, a burn like that is one of the most painful things you can imagine."

It was Zuko, just outside the door. Azula's blood boiled. The healer couldn't have sent for one of the servants to hold her down?

"Actually getting burned is just the first part of the pain. It hurts a long time afterwords," Zuko said. "Your skin has to grow back from scratch, and its very tender. The bandage can stick to the new skin, so peeling it off can be particularly unpleasant. I'm not surprised she's putting up a fight."

Katara let out a small snort. "You've changed people's bandages?"

There was a pause.

Zuko deepened his voice. "I'm going to assume that was a cruel joke."

"Oh," Katara said. "Because your... Sorry..."

"Whatever," he said. He opened the door without knocking.

Azula made eye contact with him, raising her hands. "You two won't touch me!" she said, with a weak raspy voice.

"Look, Azula, it's your wounds that are making you sick. Just let us help you!" Katara said.

"She's not the type of person you can reason with," Zuko said. "She doesn't think."

"You don't know that," Azula said, revealing just a small glance of lucidity that made Zuko take a step backwards.

"Well then go over there and calm her down!" Katara said.

Azula raised her hands higher. Zuko glared back at her. He stared at her for a good 30 seconds, in a stand off. He didn't move. Katara realized that he had been honest, he had no idea how to calm her down at all. He probably hadn't hugged her even once in his life. Zuko saw an opening. He rushed at the bed, and with one swift, unified motion, grabbed Azula by her arm, pulled her hands behind her back, and pinned her on her stomach.

She screamed and tried to break lose, but couldn't.

"Do it, as fast as you can," Zuko said. "But don't rush too much, you don't want to torture her."

"That's not 'calming her down,'" Katara said, fetching the bowl of water and the fresh gauze.

"You won't be able to do this when much bigger, Zuko," Azula said.

"We don't have a choice about this!" Zuko said. "Neither do you!"

Katara got to work on the bandages. First she used water to keep Azula's hands from becoming too hot to touch. Then she slowly got to work peeling the soiled bandages off the burnt, infected tissue. Azula screamed and protested, fighting with the little strength she had. Angry tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I will get out of this room!" she said. "I will kill you. Both of you!"

Zuko held onto her arms tighter. His face was growing red. "You know! You could be a little more grateful! We're trying to help you! So just shut up!"

Katara clenched her jaw. She finally had old bandages off. Azula's hands, swollen, red and black, looked unreal. The ferocity and cruelty with which she had been burned struck Katara again. It was an image that would be forever burned into her head.

"You can't do this to me!"

"I'm almost done, Azula, I promise..." Katara said. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. She used the remaining water to clean the wounds and heal them as best as she could. The healing water was not soothing or pain relieving as many people believed. That was the most painful part. The healing energy had to penetrate deep into the muscle. The fact the wounds were infected made it more painful and less effective. Then she gently covered the wounds with some ointments and wrapped them up again.

Zuko let go, and quickly they ran for the door.

Azula was left inside, screaming with fury. Though her sick, tired voice couldn't generate as much volume as she would have liked, the hatred and sense of betrayal was easy to hear.

Zuko quickly locked the door behind them, then slumped down to the hallway floor. "Her hands... I hadn't realized how bad they were. You think she'll actually be able to use them again?"

But Katara didn't answer. She was angry. "How hard is that, just to be a familiar face, let her know you have her best interest at heart!"

"You shouldn't have come to me."

"Who else was I supposed to ask..." Katara paused. "You didn't even try! The way you were acting..."

He rubbed his temples.

"It was kind of cruel..." she said.

Zuko put his ear against the door, listening to Azula's sick, raspy sobs. His eyes widened.

Katara watched him and waited for him to reply.

Slowly he got to his feet. "I know it was." He shook his head. "I can't believe I made her suffer through that. I should have stayed calm at least."

"Yes," Katara said. "You should have."

He continued to listen through the door.

"Well, what's done is done," she said. "The question is... are you okay?"

He was quiet for a second. "No," he said.

She watched him continue to rub his temples. "Is there... something I can do about it?"

He headed back down the hallway. "No."

Katara listened to her patient sob and gasp on the other side of the door, wishing she didn't feel so guilty.