Part 4

What could he possibly want to tell me? Katara wondered. He's never been so open before. I wonder what happened?

"Sure," she replied, sitting up to get a better view of his face while he talked.

"I . . . I don't know how to say this, but I wanted to ask you about you mom. Can you remember her at all?" he asked. He really wanted to ask a different question, but this was the best he could think of on the spot.

"Well, she's the kindest person I can remember, and she always cared for Sokka and I," Katara responded. She was being genuine, but she wondered if her mind was playing tricks on her. For a second, she thought she saw Zuko's face show some sort of regret, but the second she blinked, it was gone. "She was always there for me, and it was hard when she left –" She started to cry, thinking about her mother always did this to her, no matter how many times Katara spoke about her mother, she couldn't get over the fact that she was gone. She tried to regain control of her emotions to continue talking, but she couldn't.

Zuko didn't know what to do. He was torn between comforting her and respecting her pride. He tried to compromise with a hand rubbing circles on her back, but she only seemed to cry harder. He gave up that attempt and pulled her into a comforting hug.

She sobbed into his chest, crying on him for the second time in two days. She couldn't bear the thought, but she felt so safe in his arms, like nothing would be able hurt her ever again. Zuko's strong arms held her while she cried her heart out.

Zuko couldn't help but think of his own mom. She was the reason he was alive right now. She was the reason he was able to be here in this campsite. He had never gotten to thank her for everything that she had done, but he would think about her later. He had to worry about Katara and how to find the gaang.

When Katara was finished crying, she stood up from Zuko's embrace and started to pack their belongings.

"What are you doing that for?" he asked her. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he tried to keep up with the quick pace Katara's emotions seemed to be running on.

"We have to go; we've spent too much time here, and I think that the army is closing in on us. Can't you hear their footsteps?"

Zuko listened intently. He heard the army marching. He doubted that it was just to find him and Katara, but he still didn't want to be caught. Zuko helped Katara packing their campsite, and they headed down river.

Hey, so some people have been asking questions like, "what happened to the gaang?" and "what about appa and momo?"

Well, be assured that the gaang issue will be resolved at the end of the story, and for now, appa and momo are witht he rest of the gaang.

Carolyne