A/N: Back here with an extra long chapter. A much needed return of a character will be in this chapter. Hope you all like it!

Chapter 9:

Dinner was quiet. No chatter between the two benders. No inclusion of the ex-bender. No humming. No clattering of silverware. Not even the sound of chewing. The three only ate and stared. More like glared.

Zuko glared at his father then to Katara. Katara glared at Zuko then to her patient. Ozai only glared at his son. The tension of the room was about the only loud thing in the room. It was obvious none of them wanted to be there. Especially, Katara.

The waterbender felt more uncomfortable than angry. Ozai's teasing had really upset her and not in the way she had hoped. She had been so flustered by it that she had to dunk her head into a bucket of water a few times to rid herself of the heat. Now, she was sitting across from the man that caused her such discomfort. She fidgeted every time his eyes somehow met hers, blushing and averting her eyes. If she waited longer she see he had a smug smirk tugging at his lips. He was definitely amused by his affect on her, she gave him that power when she went running into the bathroom.

Zuko caught the strange exchange, seeing as he had his eyes on the both of them, and took it upon himself to intervene.

"Is there something going on here I should know about?" He scuffed.

Ozai and Katara both looked at Zuko and then back at each other. In that moment they silently agreed to not mention the words exchanged in his wake. Neither knew why they felt the need to say nothing. Perhaps they know Zuko will overreact and neither wanted that. He really needed to get his temper in check.

"Well?" Zuko crossed his arms over his chest. "What's going on?"

Katara shifted in her seat and folded her hands in lap, her eye then closed. "Nothing Zuko."

"Nothing?" He questioned her further.

"Yes nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing."

"Nothing looks like nothing."

Zuko's fist went into the table. The waterbender and former Fire Lord simply looked at him from the corner of their eyes, not caring for his temperament. It was funny how the two seemed to mirror each other's mannerisms unknowing.

The young Fire Lord saw how they reserved themselves to silence and watched him as if he were a child having a tantrum. He felt as though they were patronizing him. And for? Being concerned for his friends well-being. How was that wrong? Either way, he didn't like it. He didn't like the looks they gave each other, despite it being hostile. He didn't like how Katara had been responding to him when his father was around. He didn't like that his father and Katara spent whole days together alone. He knew it was his doing but he was starting to regretting it.

Zuko knew there was something up and he needed to know. However; he'd need to get Katara alone to ask her. Something wasn't right and it was eating at him.

"Katara, can we speak in your room for a second?"

The waterbender didn't respond, she just stood and walked to her room waiting for Zuko to join the. Ozai flashed them both a look as they passed him. Only Katara had seen it. She hoped.

As the two friends entered the room, Zuko turned to close the door and locked it. Katara raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms.

"What is it Zuko?" She groaned.

The young man walked up to her, grabbed her around her waist and pulled her into a hug. He squeezed her closed to him.

Katara was shocked at first but eventually settled into it. Hugging him back she rested her head on his shoulders, place her hands gently on his chest. She could hear and feel his heart racing. Her eyes shot up to his.

"What's wrong?" Her voice now heavy with worry.

Zuko's hand went to Katara's face and held her cheek. "I'm just a little scared is all." he tried to smile.

"Of what?" Katara moved a hand to his as it cupped her cheek. "Ozai?"

He frowned then nodded. "I don't like how he looks at you."

"You don't like that murderous look he gives me?" Katara laughed a bit. "I would think it's normal since we are technically enemies."

Zuko pulled away and turned his back to her, his fist balled as his shoulders hunched forward. "You don't understand Katara! It's more than just that! There's something else there."

"Like what?" Katara didn't like where this was going.

"I don't know!" He whirled around and grabbed her shoulders tightly. "Is there really nothing going on? He hasn't done anything, said anything to hurt you?'

Katara could see the anxiety shoring in his gold eyes. She could see it eating at him. Tearing through him. Burning him to the surface. She didn't want to give him anything else to worry him. That was probably why she refused to say anything about Ozai. While the man did teased her not even an hour ago, he hadn't done anything else. It wouldn't be fair to either of them if she went along and told. Besides, it was probably nothing anyway. Ozai just wanted a reaction from her nothing more and Zuko was probably looking for anything to prove he wasn't going crazy.

The girl decided it would do no good to say anything and so she shook her head and smiled. "You worry too much. Everything has been going well, surprisingly, and if anything did happen I would tell you."

There were signs of relief in his face. He was coming down from the clouds and back to the ground. Thank spirits!

Zuko pulled her back into his arms and held the back of her head with his hand, running his hand down her long hair. Katara nuzzled herself into him, enjoying his warmth. The two stood like that for several more minutes before Zuko began talking again.

"You know, Aang and your father are heading here." The waterbender's eyes grew as she pushed Zuko away.

"What do you mean their heading here?" Katara seemingly unhappy with the news.

Zuko understood why she'd be upset. Aang and her father were the reason she left home in the first place. Then there was the fact that she was still healing Ozai. Ozai. They needed to figure something out with him.

"Their coming to aid in capturing Ozai." he answered

Katara snarled and stumped over to her bed. "That's ridiculous because Ozai is- I don't know- hmm...HERE!"

"Katara, I know." He tried to calm the girl down. "Just work with me, okay? We've already gotten this far. I'm sure we can think of a way."

Pouting with her lip turned upwards, Katara glared at her close friend and tried not to point out how insane he was for it to even get this far. Hadn't they already done enough? Sending the world into a panic with Ozai supposedly on the loose. She honestly couldn't see how this was going to get any better but she had already agreed to this crap, so no backing out. Yay.

"Alright, Zuko but I'm telling you if this gets out, I'm saying you forced me into doing this." She was half joking, half serious, she refused to be blamed for this nonsense.

Zuko laughed. "And that's only an 'if'. But I really should be going, it's getting late."

Saying their goodbyes, Zuko left out of Katara's room and noticed his father's shadow lumming over him.

"I suppose there's nothing to worry yourself over, son." Ozai's voice darker than it had been in days.

The young Fire Lord spun around and leveled his eyes to his father. "Don't you dare do anything to hurt her or I swear to Agni I'll do what I should have done four years ago."

Ozai just grinned at his son as if waiting for more, "Is that all?"

"No, stop calling me son." And on that note Zuko waltzed himself out of his mother's previous chambers. He swore if he found out anything was happening he will not handle it lightly. Zuko would burn his father to a crispe if he dare to lay even a finger on his Katara.

The next day went by so fast. One minute they were having tea and meditating. Then lounging lazily around their boring apartment to finding something to argue about. Now, they just sat there staring each other down. A standoff. A mere Water Tribe Princess against the former Fire Lord. Tension was rising. Afterall, it was very easy to spark conflict when there were two enemies locked in a room together 24/7. Though, Katara promised herself she wouldn't engaging her patient in any fights, it had gotten really hard after his last comment. How was she just supposed to let that go?

"Calm yourself, girl. You make it too easy to get you riled up. It was only a joke." Ozai laughed loudly at the face the waterbender was making.

"Well it wasn't funny!" Katara growled and threw a pillow at him. "I swear I like you better when you're quiet and meditating."

Ozai cocked an eyebrow, smirking smugly as he caught the pillow in his hands, setting it aside for a moment. He was enjoying the way he got her to react. How her kind facade would falter with just the right words. The right gestures and implications. How she could so easily find herself revealing her true self when facing him. Exposing more than she had wanted. Ozai relished in this moment. It was like oxygen to his lungs, turning a simple water girl into a burning flame. Wild and yet, controlled. Hot and yet, icy. He was truly getting a kick out of taunting her. First last night and then this. Ha, he really couldn't get enough of this waterbender. She just kept giving him what he wanted.

"So it's safe to assume if I were quiet more, you'd give me that same look you give my son." Ozai's flashed her a knowing look as she stilled from shock. "I maybe older than I used to but nothing gets past me, girl."

Katara cringed. How was he doing that? Making her feel even more naked than she was only a moment ago. She knew he was cunning, sadistic, powerful, and influential but to add detail-oriented to that list. What was he? Certainly, he wasn't a man. He had to have been like some mythological creature written in some literary novel. All she could do is just gape at the man in front of her and hoped she'd disappear.

"Not to mention, last night how protective he was of you. He even threatened to kill me if I harmed you." Ozai focused his eyes intensely of the girl, pinning her down with his gold eyes. Now things were getting serious. Getting up from the chair he lounged in, the man walked over and took a seat next to his prey. He grabbed her cheeks before she could move away and squeezed them. "Tell me, girl, what is the nature of your relationship with my son. I'd hate to think it was anything more than two traitorous brats basking in each other's disgrace."

Katara lifted her hands and slapped Ozai's hand away. "You're pathetic! Thinking you can just ask questions like that and get answers! You maimed him! Banished him! Tried to have his own sister kill him! Then ask whether he and I have some relationship, like you're so concerned who your son is involved with." Katara yelled as she pushed him into the sofa and used her hand to hold him down by his torso. "Don't dare ask me questions like that again! You don't have the right! You lost that privilege when you took it upon yourself to challenge him to Agni Kai!"

Without her knowing, the girl was straddling her sworn enemy and leaning down into his face. Her hands splayed across his chest as she snarled at him. Not once the entire time did he stop her. Other than a few of her words, he had no problem with her little outburst. As he said before, he found her fiery personality intriguing and only sought to extract more fire from her. Again, she was giving him what he wanted.

Ozai notice a lock of her hair had fallen from the ponytail she was sporting. It dangled in his face half the time as she yelling at him. As he let her continue hollering about how he was an awful father, how he was a monster and so on, Ozai simply stared at the strand of hair. Inwardly, he was debating whether he should grab it or leave it be. The chocolate wavy lock of hair was tempting as were other things in this moment but as soon as he noticed a familiar feeling surge through him, he stilled. He immediately got up, repositioning the water girl and himself.

Now with the girl under him, Ozai grabbed both her wrist and pinned them atop of her head. "You really should stop climbing on top of grown men." He hissed.

Katara became tense as he leaned down closer, his lip aligned with her ear. "Do this again and I can't promise there won't be consequences."

Ozai let her hands go and climbed off of her. He didn't stick around to see what her next response would be. All he knew was he needed to keep his distance from her.

Zuko was in his office tending to a few documents containing plans and methods on taking down his father when he heard a sudden knock on the door.

"Enter." Not removing his eyes from his work.

"You really should take a day off, Nephew, I hear it's unhealthy to over tax yourself." A raspy voice said merrily.

The Fire Lord's eyes jumped to the person in his office and were delighted to see a certain uncle that up and disappeared out of nowhere. "Uncle! You're back?"

Standing from his chair, Zuko walked around his desk and hugged his dear old Uncle Iroh. Hugging him back the old man joyfully laughed. "Yes! I've returned from my errands."

"Uncle, where have you been these last few days?" Zuko looked puzzle.

"Ah, yes! Well you see, I had to get in touch with a few friends." Iroh explained as he took a seat. "I needed more information on ways to quickly cure Ozai condition, so I asked around."

"You asked around?!"

"Don't worry yourself, I said it was for a friend that wasn't properly taught to bend. Anyway, I found out that meditation could keep it at bay but only for sometime. How powerful the flames are is what determines how long they have until- you know. Eventually, the flames will have to find a way out. One way or another." Iroh's voice was now grave.

Zuko could not believe it. No matter what they tried, the only thing that would keep his father from dying was giving him the one thing they absolutely couldn't. The thought of either outcomes was too much to bear. The young Fire Lord felt sick. His lunch from earlier was about to come up. As much as he sometimes despised his father, he was the only family he had left other than his uncle. His mother vanishing in the night. Azula going completely insane. Now knowing he could once again not save the life of a family member, Zuko felt himself nearly faint.

"Nephew!" Iroh helped pull him together. "Regain yourself, there's no use in falling apart. He's your father, I know, but he is also a very dangerous criminal. It was his wrong doing that put him in this position."

Zuko only shook his head and rested them in the palm of his hand. "I can't let him die. Uncle, I can't!"

"And you don't have to." His uncle's hand touched his shoulders. "You can continue having miss Katara heal him in the hopes that it will be enough and in the end, you will know you did everything you could have. You don't have to let him die but it will happen, nonetheless.

Light pouring through the thin petals of cherry blossoms. The slow pace of wind gently gazing by a feminine figure. A woman knelt by a pond wearing her hair in a topknot. In her arms was a child, a baby boy. The epiphany of one's true happiness. The woman held him close to her breast and smiled down at him. Her hair long and flowing down her back. A gold flame hair piece placed over her topknot symbolizing her to be The Fire Lady. His Fire Lady.

Ozai walked over to the woman, wanting to get a better look at the woman and the child in her arms. From afar he saw Ursa, his beloved wife. Her long ebony hair cloaking around her. The pale complexion he has alway associated with elegance. Red covering her in royal Fire Nation attire. Ozai knew it was her. His Ursa was back. She was home again.

As he walked up behind the coddling mother, his hands reached out before him and grabbed hold of her shoulders. Ozai carefully turned the woman to face him but what he saw was not his Ursa. Instead her black hair was of a brighter hue. Her elegant pale skin turned an exotic brown. Around her neck was a blue betrothal necklace of the Water Tribes. Sky blue eyes instead of brown ones stared up at him. Joy and love held within them as she smiled at him. Ozai fell back, not wanting to believe his eyes.

The water girl. How was it that she was here? And dressed in Fire Lady robes? What was this? Did she and Zuko somehow bypass the council and marry? But then it became very apparent that they had not. Katara slowly shifted to show the child in her arms to him. A boy. With gold eyes.

"Ozai, come look." She beamed brightly. "Our precious little boy."

Ozai's mouth dropped as thoughts seeped in. The child was his...and hers. Somehow she was Fire Lady. But how? He was dethroned? Zuko was now Fire Lord. Though he could have very well stolen the throne back for himself, Ozai had no wish to. He had no wish to be Fire Lord again. Those painful days were over. But Katara. How was she apart of this? How had she given him a child? The former Fire Lord backed away from her. Not wanting to be near her any longer. There was no way this was real. He had no desire for her. She was just some peasant from Water Tribe. She had better odds in winning a fight against him then something as impossible as this! No way could he have lied down with that water girl.

Even so, even with his thoughts telling him he felt nothing, something in his chest raced at the thought of them having been intimate. Katara was just a water peasant and yet, summoned a strange feeling from him. One he hadn't had in years. A small flame burning faintly somewhere in the dark depths of his being. The feeling was chewing at him. He looked back at the water girl dressed in royal garb and notice how gentle her expressions were. There was no malice in them as he was used to seeing. She smiled at him, still hold their child lovingly.

"Don't be afraid, Ozai." Her voice was like the sweetest melody he had ever hear. "You will be a fine father just as you have been a fine husband."

Again, Ozai couldn't make sense of any of this. He was speechless. The water girl was his wife? How in Agni did this happen? All he could do was shake his head. This wasn't real. He was dreaming! No way could he have married that girl and had a child by her! It was IMPOSSIBLE!

Waking abruptly from his dream, Ozai was covered in sweat and breathing heavily. Trying to recover, he reached over to the nightstand for his glass of water but instead knocked it over. His hands instantly shoot up to his chest and throat. What was this? What was happening to him? Was it that dream?

Suddenly, he saw a disheveled waterbender barge into his room, wearing that night gown he hadn't seen in awhile, and run over to him. "What's wrong?"

She knelt down in front of him, summoning water from spirits knows where and covering her hands in its glow. Preparing to place her healing hands over him, Ozai slapped her hands away.

"Get away from me!" He shouted.

Katara was perplexed by his declaration but soon ignored it. "Shut up, I need to see what's wrong so I can fix it." Her hands met the bare skin of his arms as she slowly examined her way to the center of his chest. A large sum of heat was coming from that specific area. Meaning his inner fire was growing. Panic washed over her, she needed to think fast on how to disperse it.

"Get your filthy hands away from me, witch!" Ozai growled at her. "You did this to me!"

Katara was by far the most confused person on the face of this planet. Not too many hours ago, he was teasing her none stop and now he was yelling at her. This was great. Just great. Continuing to finish her examination for more insight on how to stop the rise in his temperature, Katara was too busy to notice the hand that was reaching for her neck.

"I said get away from me you water peasant!" Ozai's hand grabbed her hair and not her neck. He yanked her away, slamming her into the wall. She hit her head and fell, probably knocked out by the impact. But she slowly rose up. Rubbing the back of head in pain, the waterbender inched back to the man's side.

Katara realized his increasing flames may have something to do with his sudden change in behavior. She needed to subdue him and quick. Switching into attack mode, the waterbender bent the water she stole from the floor and sent it Ozai's wrist. Freezing them against the wall, Katara found herself for the fourth time straddling his hips and placed a hand glowing from her bending onto his chest.

"Stop fight me, I'm trying to save you, you idiot!" Katara glared at her patient.

Ozai struggled against his ice cuffs, dying to still have his bending to melt through the ice, and glared dangerously at the girl on top of him. "You don't learn do you, water whore!"

"Wow! That's new. I've never been called a whore before so I'll you props on originality." She was still looking for a way to stop him. Though he was restrained, he was moving underneath her to which she couldn't do much about but try not lose connection to him. Her hand moved over his third and fourth chakra, she needed to shut them down only long enough to put him out until he calmed down.

Before Katara slowed down the energy flowing through the two chakras, Ozai broke one of his hands free from its icy confinements and grabbed her neck. "You savage wench!" Just as she felt herself being suspended into the air, Katara locked the chakras down and slowed its energy. Ozai collapsed into the bed, dropping his hand from her neck and going unconscious.

The waterbender's hand went to her neck and almost panicked at the raw sensation coming from it. Tears began falling as she winced from the light touches to her throat. His grip had been so tight. A minute longer and he would have possibly killed her. Katara hadn't realized how powerful he really was, even without his bending. This was the first time he actually attacked her.

Katara looked down at the man and noticed he was covered in sweat then she remembered the strangling noises she heard before running into his room. Had he dreamt of something unpleasant? If so, it made sense. From her observation of him thus far, he wouldn't attack without probable cause and even then. She had given him so many reasons to assault her and yet he never did. But out of nowhere, he just starts going wild. There was definitely something else.

Getting up to fetch more water, Katara felt light headed as soon as she moved. Hitting her head against the wall probably caused it. She became dizzy and passed out to the side, her body still mostly on top of Ozai.

What an awful sight for someone to stumble upon. An unconscious man with a single wrist cuffed to the wall like some freaky fetish scene. A slightly bruised girl lying on him, drooling off to the side as if she was getting the best sleep she had had in a long time. Longed like a pretty rough night to anyone who'd come upon the scene.

A/N: Hey guys! I hoped you like it! Don't you just love the relationship between Katara and Ozai thus far? If not don't worry, next chapter will have minimal interaction between the two. I wonder if it'll have to do with someone walking in on them? OOPS! Slight spoiler. Anyways, catch you guys next chapter and please be sure to let me know your thoughts. :)