Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Avatar the Last Airbender. Nickelodeon does. This story is written for pure pleasure and no profit is being made. The characters will be returned in slightly worse condition than when I found them, which is not the boy scout way I know, but I can't help it. This is not beta'd, so all mistakes are mine.

Author's note: So sorry for the long gap between posting. Real life has a way of getting in the way. Literally moved across the country with my hubby and my dog and started a brand new job. But the stress level is much better now, so writing is once again an option!

Chapter 3

Katara climbed slowly up the ice steps to the outer defensive wall massaging her aching temples. She had just finished a basic waterbending class with some of the youngest waterbenders in the tribe, and while the time had been productive, she was still exhausted from the incessant squabbling. True, thanks to her, girls were now trained alongside the boys, but centuries of tradition simply did not disappear overnight. Katara ground her teeth in frustration thinking of the class. Spirits! She spent half the time convincing the loudmouthed boys that yes, she was a competent waterbender and worthy even to be called "Sifu." While the other half of her time was spent coaxing the incredibly shy girls out of their shells so that they would attempt basic waterbending forms in the presence of the boys. And don't even get her started on their parents…her head throbbed harder.

She finally reached the top of the stairs to the wall that guarded the city's ocean entrance. She nodded silently to the guard there. He faced her and acknowledged her Master status with a bow and moved further down the wall, granting her the privacy she so desperately yearned for. With a few deft motions of her arms she created a solid ice-shelf jutting out of the wall with just enough space to sit on. She smirked as she pictured what her younger self would say to such actions. Hands on her hips she probably would have declared it unsafe and foolhardy. But now, up here, away from everyone and everything, with the strong ocean wind in her face that made her eyes water, this was the closest she could come to freedom, to flying. As she stared off into the unending horizon she sent out her thoughts and prayers to her family and friends in their faraway lands.

Her thoughts flew first to her father in the South Pole, rebuilding the tribe with the help of some waterbenders from the north. To her brother and Suki, who were expecting their third child on Kyoshi Island. Thinking of Sokka always made Katara smile. Suki kept him on his toes, and he loved his two daughters more than life itself. Katara was so grateful that her nieces could grow up proud and strong in this time of peace. Katara was smiling to herself, remembering her brothers last visit and how she and her nieces had completely trounced Sokka in a snowball fight (hey, she'd only used her bending a little! Honest!). She sighed as her meditation was broken, hearing the rapid patter of small feet coming up the ice steps behind her.

"Sifu Katara! Sifu Katara!"

"Yes Gana, what is it?" Taking a deep breath, Katara turned and gracefully stepped off her makeshift seat. After returning the wall to its original form she faced her protégé her face impassive. Gana reminded her of herself at that age, curious, willful and stubborn. Who am I kidding she mused, I'm still those things. Gana finally caught her breath from racing up the stairs "there's a…a message for you Sifu Katara, down at the Palace. It just arrived by messenger hawk, and it has a Fire Nation Seal on it!" Gana gasped the last bit, her eyes as large as moonstones. Katara started down the steps frowning and thinking hard. She sometimes received letters from her friends in other nations, from Aang and Toph and even occasionally from Zuko, but those letters came by cargo ship with the rest of the mail and were not official by any means. Only the Chief received messages by messenger hawk since he was concerned with the status of the other nations, as well as his own. Gana fell into step beside Katara "who do you think it's from Sifu Katara?"

"I really don't know Gana." But I have some ideas she thought with some worry. Why would Zuko send her a message via messenger hawk? She quickly retied her hair, which had been flowing freely in the breeze, back into her respectable teachers knot. It made her headache return almost immediately. Katara sighed and frowned again. She would have to play this very carefully. Arnook, the tribe Chief was generally on her side, and had granted her freedoms that normally wouldn't be allowed, like living alone, remaining unmarried and above all, allowing her to teach Waterbending. The rest of the Council members however, were not so forgiving of her… independence. It was becoming clear to Katara, that while she was a Master Waterbender, and one of the best fighters and healers the tribe had seen in a century, she simply didn't belong here.

They finally reached the main entrance to the palace and Gana bowed and remained on the stairs fidgeting. Katara squared her shoulders and marched in, head held high because like a pack of jackal-wolves, Katara knew the Council could smell fear.

"Chief Arnook" She bowed deeply out of respect. She half turned and bowed (though not as deeply) "Esteemed members of the Council."

"Sifu Katara" Chief Arnook replied, his face a mask, but his eyes sparkled with good humor.

"You summoned me?"

"Yes, it seems you have a personal message from the Fire Nation that arrived today by messenger hawk."

He held up the roll of parchment, official seal unbroken. Katara noted this with some relief. At least they still had respected her privacy.

"Incidentally" he continued "I too received a message from the Fire Nation today, and it seems that Fire Lord Zuko and the Avatar are making their way here as we speak."

Katara gasped at him in surprise and stared openly. Chief Arnook continued softly, "They come to request the aid of the best healers in the world."

Katara was still reeling from this news when the Council pounced.

"It is a plot against us! If the Fire Lord were gravely ill we would have heard about it from our ambassadors!"

Chief Arnook rebuked "It is not a very good plot if they announce their intentions from the beginning."

The Councilman bristled. "It could be a conspiracy to weaken us. She could be a spy for the Fire Nation! We must read her letter to be sure!" His eyes gleamed maniacally and Katara's fledgling anxiety over her friends melted into white hot rage.

"How dare you!" she spluttered, and the floor beneath her cracked ominously.

Chief Arnook held up a hand placating. "Fine. In the interest of security I will read Sifu Katara's letter." Katara whirled to face him, utter shock on her face while several of the Councilmen looked pleased.

"However since I do not want to create an air of paranoia, that some will be watched while others are not, I will read ALL correspondence that comes to our kingdom, including those meant for our Master Bending Instructors." He inclined his head to her "and to our esteemed council members. I would hate to be accused of being unfair."

He stood before the Council, his face impassive and Katara stood next to him with her face also a mask of neutrality but on the inside she was laughing. The Council buzzed like angry gnat-flies until finally Councilman Genn stood and silenced the rest.

"We have decided that we may have been hasty in our pronouncement of intent to read Sifu Katara's personal message. We agree that every member of the tribe, no matter their position should be granted basic privacies."

Chief Arnook nodded gravely. "I must say I am inclined to agree, and I for one trust Sifu Katara to bring to my attention anything that might threaten the safety of our people." He looked at her meaningfully as he handed her the message.

Katara nodded "Of course Chief Arnook. Did you need me for anything else?"

"No, I believe that will be all Sifu Katara."

Katara bowed deeply because contrary to popular belief, she actually did respect Chief Arnook and she was fully aware that he had supported her…again.

As Katara walked into her apartment, she was reminded of another time Chief Arnook had supported her and won. Technically as an unmarried woman she wasn't supposed to be living alone, but he made it clear that her Master Waterbender status outweighed her status as a female, and wouldn't a young, unwed male waterbending master be afforded his own apartment? The Council had grudgingly allowed it, but she was still viewed with suspicion because she was allowed to live alone, especially by the elder women of the tribe.

Katara placed the letter on her small kitchen table and circled the room, lighting the fire and lamps, putting her coat away when it started warming up. All the while she kept glancing at the letter like it was a spider-scorpion about to strike. Finally with all her chores complete and with no further excuses she sat at the table and broke the wax seal with trembling fingers. Katara was shocked to find not Zuko's loose scrawl, but the orderly script of General Iroh.

Dearest Katara,

I write this letter with a heavy heart, beseeching you not as a General, or a fellow Master Bender, but as a friend. Zuko is gravely ill and without your intercession I fear for his life. Our healers are baffled here, so I have summoned the Avatar with the hopes that he will fly Zuko to the North Pole. I fear I have failed him, because I only recently found out about this illness that has been plaguing him for the last six years.

There is no way for me to be certain, but I dread the thought that this illness stems from the injury Azula dealt him during their duel, and that this is not a physical injury but a spiritual one. You were the only other person there when he received this wound, and since you saved him once, I'm convinced that you will be the one to save him again. Zuko has been suffering pains in his chest that are worsened by the full moon. Last full moon I found him collapsed and unconscious on the beach. Even he admitted it was the worst attack yet. I honestly do not know if he will survive the next full moon. It is my deepest hope that between your healing abilities and the Avatar's wisdom, Zuko can be saved.

Respectfully,

Iroh

Katara sat heavily on her bed, her normally tan skin a sickly shade of grey. So what Chief Arnook had said was true. Zuko and Aang were coming to the North Pole and Zuko was…dying. Her mind tried to grasp the concept and couldn't, the thought slipping away like and eel-fish. She instead focused on her memories of the last time she had seen Zuko. It was roughly three years ago at a State Dinner in the Earth Kingdom that she had attended with a contingent of waterbenders representing the North Pole.

She searched the memories trying to remember if Zuko had looked ill, but all her treacherous thoughts could focus on was how tall and…handsome he looked in his crimson formal robes at dinner. She remembered after the dinner and the formalities were through, she, Zuko, Aang and Toph had met on a secluded balcony and shared a bottle of Fire whiskey and stories of the past. She remembered how Zuko's guard had finally come down, and he had laughed and reminisced with them.

Katara blushed as she remembered the private conversation she and Zuko had shared after Toph and Aang had headed to their respective rooms. Zuko had looked at her, surprised that Aang was leaving without her, but remained silent until they were alone. "So are you and Aang still…"

"No!...no we are no longer together. We haven't been for a long time." She finished softly. Glancing at him she saw him lounging against a column with his glass of Fire whiskey and regarding her with a puzzled expression in his amber eyes. She sighed and went to stand next to him, leaning against the railing of the balcony, breathing in the warm air of the night, the strong scents of the Fire Nation around her, jasmine blooming nearby, the salt of the ocean, the spiced drink in the etched tumbler in her hands.

"Aang and I…It took a while, but I finally realized that no matter what I did, I couldn't…wouldn't love him the way he loved me. I did love him, but the way he would look at me, with such passion and amazement…I never felt that way. It was actually your uncle who opened my eyes to the fact that I had to end it between us." Zuko raised his eyebrows at this, but said nothing.

"He must have seen something when Aang and I were together, because he took me aside one afternoon and told me that not only was I being unfair to myself, but I was also being unfair to Aang." Katara closed her eyes at this, even though the events were years old, they were still painful memories when she visited them. "I asked how I could be hurting Aang when I was giving him exactly what he wanted, namely, being with me." Iroh said "don't you think he deserves to be with someone who loves him back equally, with the same fervor that he feels for you?"

"It wasn't long after that conversation that I ended it with Aang. Not so much for myself, though I will admit to feeling relieved, but for him, because what Master Iroh said was the truth, I was keeping Aang from being with someone who loved him the way he deserves to be loved. Aang was shocked of course, and it was difficult at first. But I think we've come through to the other side, and we're friends again." She took a large swallow of her whisky and coughed. Turning to Zuko she asked quietly. "What about you? What about Mai?"

Zuko took a sip of his own drink and his eyes became distant and hard. "Mai was…more in love with the idea of me than the actual me. She loved the idea of being with Fire Lord Zuko, but found being with regular Zuko, trying. She also fell in love with me at a time when I was in a very dark place, and very angry. I think since she has such a hard time expressing her emotions, she loved that I would let my anger and rage flow. Accepting the Avatar and peace, changed me. My battle with Azula changed me even more. She ended it after a while, but not before telling me what a disappointment I was."

He laughed mirthlessly into his glass as he took another swallow. "Last I heard her parents arranged a marriage for her to one of the Barons." Zuko looked out over the misty jungle of his home. Katara eyed his profile thoughtfully. "And since then?"

Zuko stood abruptly, his face losing all expression. "I've been too busy. I'm sorry Katara, I must retire for the evening, we have an early morning with the diplomats you know." He bowed low out of respect, and she smirked and bowed back. "Goodnight Zuko."

His face didn't change expression as he quickly left through the wide open glass doors at the back of the balcony. Katara watched him go with some confusion, finished her last swallow of Fire whisky, savoring the warm burn down her throat and headed to her own guest quarters.

Katara gasped at the end of the memory. She had always thought it strange how quickly Zuko had left the balcony, especially after such an intimate conversation. What if, what if he was starting to have one of his attacks and he had left because of that? She remembered clearly how his face had lost all expression, and how hard his eyes looked. She shuddered. He had almost looked like the Zuko of old, so angry and lost.

She scrunched her eyes closed as she tried to remember him the next day. Had he seemed paler? Maybe. She snorted, he was so pale to begin with, how would she tell. He had seemed his old self speaking with the diplomats, but his eyes held a wariness around her that wasn't there the night before. "I bet he wondered if he had given anything away." She whispered to herself. The more she thought about it the more firmly she believed that he had suffered an attack that night, and he had hidden it from her. This thought saddened her greatly. She was of two conflicting minds. Didn't he know that she would have done anything to help him? On the other hand she knew that by then he had been hiding his condition for years, and it was probably habit more than anything that kept him from asking her for help.

"Well." She said briskly as she stood and rolled the letter up neatly and put the caps back on the end. "He'll have my help now whether he likes it or not."

As Katara made herself dinner she was lost in memories of her time in the Fire Nation, of her times with Zuko and with Aang. She was looking forward to seeing both of them; she hadn't been lying to Zuko when she told him that she and Aang were friends. She had seen Aang six months ago when he made his routine visit to the North Pole as the Avatar. They had shared a meal and much laughter together. She rolled her eyes, of course the older women of the tribe had tutted about her having a man in her apartment…alone…even if it was the Avatar and NOTHING had happened except two friends sharing dinner.

Katara shook her head and sliced the sea prunes with a little more force than necessary. If she was honest with herself, she had almost had it with this place, with its backwards thinking and ancient ways. Sure she had made a difference and the women of the tribe now had more rights than they ever had, but spirits she was so tired of fighting. Where would she go? Kyoshi Island maybe, and stay with her brother and Suki. Women definitely were respected there. Or maybe back to the South Pole, and help her father rebuild.

She sighed and scooped the sea prunes and onions into a pot for stew. She was also tired of being cold all the time. It was fine if that was all you knew, like some of these people, but she remembered the Fire Nation, with its blazing sun and its warm humid nights, cool sandy beaches and green…she missed green trees. Maybe she would leave when…when Zuko got better, as an ambassador to the Fire Nation. She snickered out loud. Oh the scandal it would cause! Her leaving with the Fire Lord and the Avatar!

Her thoughts sobered quickly as she sat in her kitchen and ate her simple meal. In order for her to leave with Zuko and Aang, Zuko would have to survive. She looked out her apartment window to the black ocean beyond, and the moonless night. How soon would they get here? And could she save Zuko before the next full moon?