I do not own Avatar or any of it characters.

Bitter Sweet Dreams

Katara sat by the fire preparing the evening meal. She had been alone for some time now. Iroh and Aang had been gone for most of the afternoon and Zuko had left earlier in the morning. She hadn't minded the solitude but now that the sun was starting to set she began to feel a slight bit uneasy. The air temple was a beautiful place during the day but at night her mind began to dwell on what had happened here one hundred years ago and she began to get scared. She wished that someone would join her soon. Almost as if in response to her request she heard the sound of someone approaching. Looking up she saw Zuko coming her way. His footsteps were heavy and he was leaning on a walking stick for support. He looked exhausted but on closer examination she noticed something else. He seemed more confident than when she had seen him last. It was if he had regained a little of his spark that he had lost since Ba Sing Se. As he drew closer to camp both he and Guru Pathik stopped walking and looked at her.

"Good evening Katara. I see that everyone has left you alone to enjoy the beauty of this temple." The guru said pleasantly.

"Aang and Iroh left after lunch to begin lessons on fire bending." She replied.

"Ah, that is good. That is good." He then turned to Zuko and said, "I will see you again tomorrow. Get your rest so that you will be prepared." With that he bowed at the prince and Zuko did the same in return. The guru then left and Zuko stumbled over to his mat.

He lay there on his back with his eyes closed taking in deep breaths. His face looked flushed and she instinctively got up and went to his side. Kneeling down she put the back of her hand to his forehead to check for a fever. As her skin made contact with his he opened his eyes and grabbed her hand.

"What are you doing?" he asked startled.

"You looked flushed. I was checking to see if your fever had returned."

He released her hand and sat up. "I'm just tired. It's been a long day."

"Well maybe you should eat something and then get some sleep." She ladled out some stew for him and brought him the bowl. He took it and thanked her. As she returned to her place by the fire she said, "I should brew some more tea for you as well. You really should keep drinking it until you completely get your strength back."

"If that tea is your way of getting back at me for all the rotten things that I've done to you in the past then you are succeeding." He said.

She couldn't help but smile at that remark. She looked up at him and noticed that he was smiling as well. The intimacy of the moment made her blush and she quickly turned away. They sat in silence until the tea was ready. She poured him a cup and offered it to him. Grimacing he took the drink and finished it quickly. Handing the cup back to her he lay back down on his mat.

"I don't mean to be rude," he said, "But I'm exhausted." As if to prove his point he let out a big yawn.

"You should sleep. I'll be ok."

She had barely said the words when she noticed that his breathing had evened out and he was fast asleep. She went back to her earlier place by the fire and sat back down to eat her meal. As she ate the stew she thought back over what had just transpired between them. This evening had been the first civil conversation that they had had since their time alone in the cave beneath Ba Sing Se. Not that they had said much. Still she was surprised by how easy it had been and she wondered what had happened to the hostility that she had been feeling for the past week.

Her mood must have been due to her conversation with Aang this morning. She was still feeling deflated by everything he had said. She realized that she really wasn't ready to let him go yet. Though she had never seriously entertained romantic feelings for him she still relied on him as a friend. For almost the past year her life had revolved around him and now she was just expected to let him go. It had only been a few hours and already she felt so alone without him.

Looking up from her meal she glanced at Zuko. For the next month she was stuck with no one except the prince for company. Maybe that was the true reason that she had let her anger go for tonight. She was tired of fighting and she knew that he was too. It would do them both some good if she let go and tried to be cordial to him. After all everyone deserved a second chance. And besides if she held onto her anger the next month would be a miserable one for all of them.

Katara found herself back in the cave beneath Ba Sing Se with Zuko. She was about to heal his scar. He stood there submissively waiting for her to try. She pulled the stopper off of the amulet and released the water into her hand. As the water took on its familiar blue glow she applied it to the scar. Zuko stood absolutely still. She could tell that he was holding his breath in anticipation. Slowly she removed her hand from his face. He opened his eyes and looked at her with a worried expression.

"Oh Zuko," she said excitedly, "It worked. The scar is gone!"

He put his hand up to his face and felt his cheek. As soon as he felt the smooth flesh tears sprang from his eyes. Dropping his hand he stepped forward and hugged her tightly to him. "Thank you Katara. Thank You so much."

It was at that moment that Aang and Iroh entered the cave. She ran to Aang and hugged him tightly. Suddenly she heard Azula's voice behind her.

"You're not going to side with the Avatar just because the water tribe girl healed your scar. Come with me Zuko I can offer you so much more. I can help you restore your honor. I can end your banishment. Just help me defeat the Avatar."

She turned and looked at Zuko. He seemed to be wrestling with his thoughts. "Don't listen to her!" She yelled to him.

He looked up at her and with regret in his voice said, "I'm sorry Katara but I have to do this." With that he shot a fire blast at Aang.

In an instant they were engrossed in a battle. They fought hard but in the end they couldn't defeat the two fire benders. All seemed lost when Aang went into his Avatar State. As he rose into the air a bolt of lightning flashed and Aang was struck. She ran to him where he lay on the ground and turned him over. There was a burn mark in his back from where the bolt had entered. She noticed that he wasn't breathing. She needed to save him. Reaching for her amulet she realized too late that it was empty. She had used it on Zuko and now Aang would die.

She looked up and noticed Sokka and Toph. Where had they come from she wondered. Her brother looked at her and simply asked, "Why? Why did you let him die?"

Tears were streaming down her face as she looked at her friend lying dead in her arms. It was all her fault. He should have never come back for her.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and then heard a voice, "Katara, it's ok. You're having a bad dream."

It was Zuko. He was calling her. She brushed off his hand in anger but he only held her tighter.

"Wake up Katara." She could feel him shake her. "You need to wake up."

Suddenly she opened her eyes and took in a deep breath. Zuko was kneeling next to her, his hand on her shoulder. He had a look of concern on his face. Still dazed from sleep she reached her hand up and touched his scarred cheek.

"You still have your scar." She said somewhat relieved.

He removed her hand from his face and said, "You never healed it Katara. Remember, the Avatar and my uncle came in before you got the chance." He sat back on his feet and looked down. She suddenly felt bad for mentioning it. She sat up and reached for his hand. He looked up at her and she could see the hurt in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she began, "In my dream I had healed your scar but then when Aang was injured by Azula I couldn't save him because I had used the water from the amulet on you." She felt tears run down her cheeks and she let go of his hand to wipe them away. "If Aang had died it would have been my fault."

"How would it be your fault? You weren't the one who shot him with lightning." He said in reply.

Her guilt overwhelmed her and she said in a whisper, "He came back for me. He should have stayed here at the temple but he returned before he opened the seventh chakra because he had a vision that I was in danger. It's my fault."

Zuko looked stunned by her revelation but said, "Katara you can't blame yourself for a decision that he made. He knew the risks when he left and he knew the price that he might have to pay if he didn't finish what he started here with Guru Pathik. You didn't ask him to come back and I can't believe that you would have wanted him to if you had known the truth."

She knew what he was saying was true but she still couldn't help but feel remorse over what happened. The grief that she had been dealing with for the last few days came to the surface again and she took a few breaths to calm herself. The last thing she wanted to do was fall to pieces in front of him.

After a moment she said in a hoarse voice, "I don't want to lose anyone else. I don't think I could bear it if something happened to Aang. Losing my mother was hard enough. I don't want to lose my best friend." She choked back a sob and then continued. "All the people that I love have been separated from me. Even when I left the South Pole to travel with Aang I still had Sokka with me. Now he's gone with my dad and Toph with him."

"You'll see them again though." He interrupted.

"I know I will but I still can't help but worry about them. What if something happens? What if they get hurt and I can't help them. I mean Aang almost died and I was there with him but now the people I care about are far away. I won't be of any good if they need me."

"Katara you can't expect to always be there to protect them. We're at war. People get hurt and people die. If you try to take on the responsibility of keeping those you care about from harm you'll go crazy."

The tears she was trying to keep at bay began to fall freely but she didn't care anymore. "I don't want anyone else that I love to die. I'm afraid for them and for myself. I feel so alone now and they're only separated from me by distance. If they were to die and I could never see them again…"

She couldn't talk anymore. Her fears at losing all the people she treasured overwhelmed her. With the dream still fresh in her mind she found it impossible to remain calm. She could feel her stomach start to tighten and she felt an odd tingling sensation in her fingertips. She suddenly found it hard to breathe which made her panic even more.

Pulling her knees up to her chest she wrapped her arms around her legs. She tried to let go of her worries but she couldn't. It was at that moment that Zuko spoke and she realized that she had completely forgotten that he was there. "Katara you need to calm down or you're going to make yourself sick."

"Too late," she replied with a weak smile, "I already feel miserable."

He put his hand on her shoulder and looking into her eyes he said, "You know it's perfectly natural to worry about the people you love. No one wants to see those closest to them get hurt but you can't let your fears for their safety consume you or you won't be able function."

"But I don't want to lose them…" she began but stopped as she choked on another sob.

Suddenly she felt his hand move to her back and he began to rub it as he said, "You need to face the fact that you could lose them. There are no guarantees in life, Katara. But you can't live your life terrified that something might happen."

She knew he was right but she still found it hard to relax. She sat there quietly for some time. The rhythmic motions of his hand on her back started to help her to calm down and she let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she said starting to feel a little embarrassed by her loss of control. "I just really miss my family and the last few weeks have been very difficult."

"You don't have to apologize. It's ok to feel scared once in a while." He said as he pulled his hand from her back. She was surprised to find that she missed the warmth of his touch now that it was gone.

He sat back again and continued, "I guess we should try to go back to sleep."

"I don't know if I'll be able too." She said before she could stop herself.

He looked at her for a moment and then said, "If you want me to I can sit up until you fall asleep."

Once again her mouth betrayed her as she replied, "That would be nice."

He smiled slightly and said, "Go ahead and lie down. I'll wake you if you start to have anymore nightmares."

Unable to think of a response she laid down and closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She was amazed to find that she really was tired. Secure in the knowledge that she had someone looking out for her she started to drift off to sleep.

Opening her eyes one last time she looked at him and said simply, "Thank you."

With that said she promptly fell asleep.

Zuko sat for some time gazing at Katara as she slept. The evening had been a strange one to say the least. For the past week Katara had had nothing but harsh words for him but tonight things had been different. She was still distant but the hostility of earlier seemed to be gone. He hoped this was a permanent change but with girls you could never tell. Not that he was very experienced with the opposite sex. But one thing he did know was that they were prone to mood changes for absolutely no reason at all. Still if Katara was willing to let her guard down he wasn't going to complain.

When he had returned from his time with the guru he was so tired and the last thing he wanted was a fight. He lay on his mat with his eyes closed waiting for her attack but none ever came. In fact she surprised him with her concern for his welfare instead. And then when he made that comment about the tea she had actually smiled. That simple reaction caused him to smile in return. It had felt good to make her happy, if even for a brief moment.

Of course his exhaustion had quickly gotten the best of him and he had fallen asleep only to be awakened by her moaning in her sleep. He had gotten up to wake her figuring that he could interrupt the dream and then she would simply fall back asleep but that wasn't the way it had played out. She had been terrified by her dream and the more she talked the more he realized that the dream was just a mirror for her real fears.

He had always pictured her as a formidable opponent not to be easily dismissed but tonight he had seen a different side to her; a vulnerable side. Her nightmare had taken its toll on her and she had fallen to pieces. Of course he had been at a complete loss as of what to do. The girls that he was used to, Azula and her friends, never showed weakness. They never cried about anything. He wanted to console Katara but he didn't know where to even begin. It was then that he remembered his mother and the ways that she would comfort him when he was afraid or sad. Following her example he reached out for Katara and rubbed her back trying to soothe away her anxieties. He had expected her to shrug him off but when she accepted his comfort he continued. He found that it felt good to be able to help her deal with her fears and in the end she had been able to relax and finally fall back asleep because he had helped her.

This thought made him smile. All his life he had taken from others. It felt good to be able to give something back especially after all that she had done for him. Satisfied that she was fast asleep he started to rise from his place beside her. He glanced over at his uncle and saw that he was still sleeping. He then looked to the Avatar. To his surprise the boy was wide awake and staring back at him. When their eyes met the young monk rolled over the other way giving him his back. Zuko wondered what that had been about and why the Avatar hadn't come to Katara's aid himself if he had been awake.

As he lay down on his mat he found that he was too tired to ponder the question at length. Maybe tomorrow things would make more sense. He only hoped that the new day would not see an end to the truce that he and Katara seemed to now share.