Heh... um, thank you to zutarakid50 for pointing out that I had Toph find something in the library when she can't read. Uhm,... braille? I guess. Who knows, maybe a past Fire Lord was blind or something, or Zuko had some books translated because Toph and the others are always visiting the palace? I duno... Anyway, on with the story!

The Fire Lord and His Girl
XxX

Katara slowly sat up, disbelieving and heartbroken, but not before whispering a desperate plea in Zuko's ear.

"Please, Zuko." The tears were flowing steadily down her cheeks. "Don't do this to me. Don't die. Please, Spirits above, let him come back to us."

Nothing happened. Katara turned to Asamiya with sad eyes, and then the princess was crying, too.

"...kat...tara...don't...cry..."

The voice was so weak neither could be certain they had heard it. But when the Fire Lady and the princess looked to the Fire Lord, they could both see the slits of gold gazing back at them, worried and sad.

"DAD!!"

"Oh, Zuko!" Katara wrapped her arms around her husband, as Asamiya joined the hug.

"Daddy..." she whispered, the tears in her eyes happy ones. The Fire Lord smiled at the two women as Katara laid him back down.

"I...t-told you...I'd ...b-be...okay," he whispered, a faint, trembling smile crossing his face. Laughing, Asamiya lay down against his chest, and Zuko wrapped his arms around her.

"Zuko," Katara breathed, looking at him, smiling weakly and shaking. The Fire Lord cracked a slight grin.

"Come down here," he rasped. "And you'll get s-some... too."

Asamiya laughed, looking from her father to her mother. Katara smiled, then stood.

"I'll go tell the teachers you won't be in lessons the rest of today, Asamiya," the Fire Lady smiled. "And I'll tell the council it'll be a few days at least until you can come back to the meetings, Zuko. I'll see you both later." Katara gave her husband one last loving look before leaving, and closing the door gently behind her. As soon as her mother was gone, Asamiya sobbed, and threw her arms around Zuko's neck, whimpering into his chest, her entire body shaking.

"Asamiya," Zuko murmured gently, "what is it sweetheart?" The princess sobbed, and buried her face in his shoulder.

"I-I th-thought you were g-gone, Dad!" She didn't raise her head, just stayed there, her ear against the Fire Lord's chest as she sobbed, and listened to his heart beat. "I-I thought we'd l-lost you..."

Zuko closed his eyes, letting out a slow breath, before lightly pulling her chin up so she was looking at him, and flashed her a weak smile.

"That won't happen, my sweet angel," he promised hoarsely. "I said I wouldn't go away for many years last time. Eleven isn't many, love." He stroked her hair soothingly, hoping to calm her trembling body. "Eleven isn't many," Zuko repeated, almost to himself. Then, trying to steer the mood of the situation to something lighter, he asked her, "So, how is everyone? Lee and Kyoshi showing any signs of getting together?"

Asamiya laughed. "I don't know," she replied. "I haven't been outside too much lately." There was a tone in her voice that struck Zuko. Asamiya was just so worried, he'd have to find something else that would distract her.

"Any new books?" he asked.

Asamiya shook her head. "No, nothing good. Just historical stuff. Before the war history." She shrugged, and cocked a half grin.

"Sounds boring," Zuko chuckled, sharing her grin. He coughed suddenly, and Asamiya was instantly on edge. She pressed a cup of water to him, and he swallowed. Zuko's breathing was heavy and labored after, and he closed his eyes, concentrating on re-steadying it. He could feel his daughter's nervous gaze on him, and he opened his eyes slightly, smiling lightly. "I-I'm...'m okay..."

"Are you sure, Dad?" Asamiya asked, replacing the dry compress on his forehead with a wet one. Her golden eyes were dark with worry and concern.

Zuko smiled faintly up at her. His daughter. His first-born and heir. His best friend next to Katara and his uncle. Gently, he reached up and stroked her cheek, the small, fond smile never leaving his face.

"You're so much like your mother," he sighed and pulled Asamiya down into his arms. "I love you, my sweet Asamiya," he whispered, holding her close.

"I love you too, Dad," the princess replied, her arms going around Zuko's neck. One side of Zuko's mouth twitched up in an amused smirk when he felt her breathing even out and deepen a few minutes later. Her eyes were closed and a small sleep-smile played across her face. Tenderly, the Fire Lord tucked a strand of thick black hair behind his daughter's ear, and closed his own eyes, the sound of Asamiya's even breaths barely barely more than a background sound as he too fell asleep.

-

-

"...Sweetheart...hey...Asamiya...wake up, love..." The voice was distant, but familiar, so Asamiya pushed through the blackness of after-dream sleep and slowly opened her eyes to stare groggily at her father.

"Meh?"

Zuko smiled faintly. "You've been out for a while. Are you hungry? I guess your mother or someone brought us lunch."

Asamiya sat up slowly, stretching and yawning. Zuko chuckled. "Sleepy-head," he teased. Asamiya lazily stuck her tongue out at him, and smiled slightly, still a little tired. She passed her father a bowl of noodles, and took her own, using the jade chopsticks she'd bought years ago on a trip to the Earth Kingdom. They were nicked in places, after all the times and places they'd seen. Particularly the South Pole. She smiled fondly at the memory. That had nearly been a year ago.

"Where are you?" Zuko asked her, noticing the faraway look on his daughter's face.

"Lost in thought," she joked. "Since it's such unfamiliar territory for this family!"

Zuko sighed and shook his head, smiling.

"You get it from Sokka, I swear," he muttered, taking a bite of his food. A comfortable silence settled between father and child, and they sat there eating and just enjoying their meal and each other's company.

After Zuko finished eating, he pushed himself up on shaking arms, and tried to stand. He swayed dangerously, and Asamiya reached out to catch him.

"Dad, what are you doing?!" she cried, holding onto him to keep him steady. "You shouldn't get up!"

"J-just outside," he panted, the effort to stand having taken a good deal of strength from him. "On the deck."

Sighing and rolling her eyes, Asamiya helped her father shuffle out to the small space of marble just outside the royal bedroom in the gardens. There they sat on a bench against the wall of the palace, Zuko panting and wheezing as he attempted to regain his lost breath, annoyed that something so simple would have such a tax on his strength. But he put it off as part of his current illness and just enjoyed the warm sun with Asamiya, his eyes closed, his face turned up to the sky, a small smile fixed on his lips.

"Dad?" He opened his eyes to see Asamiya looking at him worriedly, a frown of concern replacing the smile that had been there a few minutes ago.

"What?"

"Your breathing was off," Asamiya muttered worriedly. "It sounded like you were having trouble breathing. Are you okay?"

Zuko smiled, and pulled her in close for another hug. "Of course I'm alright. At least, I will be. Maybe not right now, but soon, I'll feel better." He coughed, his hair that had been down since he'd fallen ill scattering into his face. At his daughter's worried look, he smiled sheepishly through the strands, his eyes half closed. Asamiya sighed, smiling just slightly. Her look changed, though, when a winter breeze blew through the garden and Zuko shivered violently.

"Maybe we shouldn't have come out here..." the princess muttered, moving to help him get back inside. But Zuko just shook his head, pulling her back down beside him on the seat.

"I'm alright, Asamiya," the Fire Lord smiled. "Besides, it's beautiful out here. Especially the dogwoods." He smiled as a single purple blossom fell from the dogwood tree just to the side of the bench in the grass. It was Zuko's and Katara's tree; Zuko always said the purple symbolized their connection. Reaching out, he caught the flower, and held it in his hand, looking at it fondly. He turned to Asamiya, and tucked it behind her ear, cupping her chin in his hand to see how it looked. "Beautiful," he breathed, making the princess blush.

"Dad," Asamiya mutterd, smiling at her father. And for a moment, everything was as it should be; like it was before her dad got sick, back when they would sit together under her tree for hours and just talk and laugh and not worry about anything. Then a worried female voice cut through the moment.

"ZUKO?!" The two cringed at the frightened tone in Katara's voice. Asamiya jumped up and ran to tell her mother where they were, catching her just before she left the room.

"Dad wanted to go outside," she explained carefully, hoping her mother wouldn't be mad at her for helping her father leave the bed when he wasn't really supposed to. "We've just been out on the bench outside by the wall."

Katara sighed in relief and brushed past her daughter, returning a moment later leading Zuko gently back to the bed, where she covered him warmly, and placed a cold compress on his forehead to help his fever.

"You shouldn't have gotten up, Zuko," the Fire Lady scolded lightly, more worried and concerned than angry or disappointed. Zuko shrugged.

"I didn't go far," he muttered, sounding like a child caught defying his mother rather than the Fire Lord he was. Katara sighed again.

"Zuko, we're all worried. No one wants to see anything happen to you." Shaking her head, the Fire lady gently tucked a strand of hair back out of his face. "I have to go talk to the council now. Don't get up again." she frowned when she noticed the untouched cup of medicinal tea. "And take that medicine, Zuko. I don't want you getting worse." She pressed the cup into his hand, and watched carefully as he gagged at the taste, frowning at her. "Oh, drink it," Katara growled. "It won't kill you." Zuko glared at her, then steeled himself, and downed the rest in one go. Seeing that he was done, Katara took the cup and the empty dishes, and left, throwing one last smile over her shoulder at her family. Zuko returned the look until the door closed, then he pulled a face, 'blech'ing at the taste of the medicine. Asamiya laughed.

"Let me guess," she teased. "Not good?"

"Nasty," Zuko replied, wishing he could get the taste out of his mouth.

"But it'll heal you, right?" the princess reminded, smiling.

"Let's hope," Zuko laughed. Asamiya frowned for a second. What's he mean, 'let's hope'? Something isn't right. I still don't think this is natural...

"Asamiya?"

Asamiya shook herself, then smiled wryly. "Nothing, Dad," she assured. "I'm just thinking again." The Fire Lord just nodded. He trusted his daughter's word, but what if she were getting sick, too? If Asamiya caught whatever this was that he had, he'd never forgive himself. Ever.

"So long as you're okay, my dear," he muttered, smiling slightly.

"Of course I'm okay, Dad," Asamiya replied, grinning. Zuko accepted that, but watched her closely anyway. Any sudden sign of tiredness, any change in the tone of her voice that wasn't natural, and he'd send her to her own bed at once to keep her safe and well. He couldn't have her getting sick, too.

"Sweetheart, why don't you go see your cousins?" the Fire Lord suggested. "I'm feeling a bit tired." Asamiya shook her head.

"Someone has to stay with you, Dad," she argued gently. "After yo- after what almost happened today, what if that happens again, but while you're alone? There'd be no one to help you."

Zuko smiled wryly. She was right. But he didn't want her getting sick, and he knew that would happen if she stayed around him too long. Yet, she had a point.

Asamiya pulled the blankets up close around her father, smiling slightly.

"Just go to sleep, Dad," she smiled. "I'll be here. I'll make sure nothing happens. Night."

The Fire Lord gave a weak grin, feeling suddenly sleepy. "Good night, my dear," he smiled, as his eyes fluttered closed and his breathing evened out.

Asamiya sighed. She just couldn't shake the feeling that somehow, whatever was wrong with her father wasn't natural. Most diseases and sicknesses were contaigous, and if this had hit Zuko so hard and fast, with all the time she and her mother especially had spent around him, why weren't they sick, too? Things just didn't quite add up. But, maybe it was the waterbender blood. Maybe waterbenders and their families had some sort of immunity to diseases.

Or it could be poison.

The thought startled her, and an image of her father frowning at his drink the other night flashed across her memory. Swiftly, she shook her head, repeating in her mind why no one would dare poison her father. The rest of us are too strong. Anyone who would want to knows what they'd be going up against. No one's that stupid. No one would do that any way. Dad's a great Fire Lord. The best ever. No, it's just some sort of weird illness that must only effect pure-blood firebenders or something. Mom's watertribe blood protects the rest of us or something.

A pained murmur pulled her from her thoughts, and Asamiya looked down at her father, checking that he was alright. Satisfied when nothing further happened, and his labored breathing returned to a raspy rhythm, she sat back in the chair by the bed, and sighed, keeping watch over her father who she loved. Closing her eyes, Asamiya sighed a second time, and began to sing softly.

"O can't you see the little turtle dove
Sitting under the mulberry tree?
See how that she does mourn for her true love:
And I shall mourn for you, my dear,
And I shall mourn for you.

O fare thee well, my little turtle dove,
And fare thee well for a-while;
But though I go I'll surely come again,
If I go ten thousand mile, my dear,
If I go ten thousand mile.

Ten thousand mile is very far away,
For you to return to me,
You leave me here to lament, and well-a-day!
My tears you will not see, my love,
My tears you will not see.

The crow that's black, my little turtle dove,
Shall change its colour white;
Before I'm false to the maiden I love,
The noon-day shall be night, my dear,
The noon-day shall be night.

The hills shall fly, my little turtle dove,
The roaring billows burn,
Before my heart may cause me to fail,
Or I a traitor turn, my dear,
Or I a traitor turn."

Asamiya sighed. She'd always been something of a romantic, and she thought love songs were cute. But what else could she do to occupy herself? She wasn't about to leave her father, but... That! 'The Spirit and the Lady' was lying on the nightstand. Smiling, Asamiya decided it was better than just sitting there, bored. Opening it, she didn't think she'd ever see anything cuter;

To my darling Katara;

This is our story, love.

Never forget that and that I love you.

Yours forever,

Zuko.

Happy birthday Katara.

Asamiya made a small noise, and ran her fingers over the writing. Oh, to have someone love her like her father loved her mother. She turned to the beginning of the book, and began to read, her attention divided between the book and her father.

It was nearly sundown and dinner time, before she saw anyone else. There was a gentle, tentative knock, and then Zhang was at the door, and Asamiya smiled at him.

"I-I'm here t-to watch you f-father, Princess," he explained. Though he could sometimes act like he wasn't nervous as anything around the royal family, the young princess really unnerved him for some reason. Perhaps it was her attitude; open and friendly, certainly not the usual outlook for a royal child. It always put him on edge. "Y-your mother sent me. She wanted you to come to dinner."

Asamiya nodded, and, with one last look at her father, smiled as she passed Zhang.

"Thank you, Zhang," she grinned, grateful that her father wouldn't be left alone. The apprentice healer bowed to the princess, and she returned the gesture. Zhang shook his head as he watched her walk away down the hall. She was certainly the only royal he'd met that was like her. While the entire royal family was kind, there was something about the princess that seemed different. Turning his focus back to the sleeping Fire Lord, Zhang slowly approached and sat down in a chair to watch over him until a family member returned, as he knew they would.

-

-

Asamiya stepped into the dinning room, and complete silence met her. Then her mother smiled wryly.

"Well, look who's finally emerged from her cave!" the Fire Lady joked half-heartedly. "How's your father?" Katara asked as the princess sat next to her.

"He's asleep," the princess replied. "Zhang said he'd watch him." There was a tone in her voice that Katara could easily hear. Asamiya was worried. Much as she trusted Zhang, she wanted to be with her father. They were best friends, practically. A father-daughter team that nothing yet had broken up, and Katara seriously doubted anything ever would divide them. Because Asamiya was Zuko's little angel; his girl.

XxX
Review, please! hope you all enjoyed this.