Ok...so, I had most of this written before episode 312 aired in Canada, so I SWEAR that I didn't just spin off of that...I did NOT know how the group would accept Zuko, or that they even woul, and I did NOT know that Toph and Zuko would actually have a connection, and I did NOT know that Katara really does hate Zuko...so PLEASE BELIEVE ME THAT THIS IS ORIGINAL!!! And even though 312 has aired, I will be continueing this story the way it is...I'm not going to change it just because we know how it's really supposed to turn out. So...enjoy.


Katara was mashing up the fruit in a bowl and slowly adding water to make it easier for Toph to swallow. Zuko was sitting next to her, holding Toph as usual, but this time he kept looking at her face every other minute, worried that he might look down to see those devil-black eyes staring up at him again. Aang was pacing back and forth on the opposite side of the clearing, and Sokka had gone into the woods.

Zuko watched Aang do two laps of pacing, then said quietly to Katara, "You might be wasting your time, mashing that fruit. How do you know that he'll get back into the Avatar State?"

Katara violently splashed some more water into the bowl. "He'll get in it. I believe that he will." She looked at Zuko in distaste. "Nice to know you have faith."

Zuko shrugged and waved his hand to make the fire bigger. "All I'm saying is that we don't know how he can get into it. You guys have said that even when he could get into the Avatar State, it was usually by accident. He didn't have too much control over it." Zuko wrapped Toph tightly and laid her next to the fire.

"What are you doing?" Katara asked.

Zuko stretched and stood up. "My legs are asleep and I need to walk around. She'll be fine for five minutes." He walked over to the edge of the clearing and started to do some stretches. Katara looked down at Toph. She's so small…Katara then looked over at Aang, who had sat down to meditate. Suddenly, she was filled with the need to walk around too. Sokka walked into the clearing with a dead fluffy animal slung over his shoulder.

"I'm not skinning that," Katara said as she stood up. "Watch Toph. I need to go for a walk."

Before Sokka could complain, Katara was up and walking away into the woods. Zuko watched her disappear, then went back to stretching his left leg. After his muscles were relaxed, he stood up. Aang was clearly deep in meditation and Sokka was cleaning his kill and watching Toph. Satisfied that no one was paying attention to him, Zuko silently slipped into the woods after Katara.

Zuko had a hard time tracking Katara. She was a silent walker, and knew how to move through trees and grass without leaving much of a disturbance. He eventually caught up with her at the edge of a little creek. She was bent over and staring at herself in the water. It took Zuko a minute to realize that the water she was looking at was smooth as glass, while the rest of the busy creek flowed around it.

Zuko went and squatted down next to her. "What are you doing?"

"It's a relaxation exercise." Katara said, not taking her eyes off the spot. "What are you doing?"

"Getting blood flow back into my legs."

Katara broke her conenctration and looked over at him. "If she's so hard to hold, then stop helping. We can keep her warm next to the fire."

"She'd get burned being by the fire all the time," Zuko said, frowning. "And I wasn't complaining. You asked what I was doing, and I told you."

Katara looked a Zuko hard for a moment, then turned her gaze back to the creek. This time she put both her hands out and started slowing turning the water in a mesmorizing motion. Zuko watched her for a while, and then stood up. He figured she had gone into meditation. He was about to walk away when he was hit hard in the back of the head with a water whip.

"What was that for?" He asked angrily. He put a hand up to his head and felt the welt.

Katara was in her attack stance, whip at her side. "That was for everything you did to us."

Zuko turned to face her directly. He was in his defensive stance now. "I haven't done anything now! I've been doing my share of the work…I've even kept that little brat warm for you!"

"Oh, do you want recognition now?" Katara asked. "Do you want us to say 'Oh, the great hero Prince Zuko has saved our poor little group'?"

Zuko was shocked. "What? No! I never said I wanted that! What is wrong with you? I'm here for Aang now…"

"Just like you'd changed in Ba Sing Se?" Katara started to walk towards him slowly. " 'I've learned I'm free to choose my own destiny'" She mimicked Zuko's voice. "What a load that was! You abandon your uncle, join up with you're Satan spawned sister…like you've changed!"

Zuko was slowly backing up. He would fight her if he had to, but he didn't understand what was going on. Where is this coming from?

"What? You defended me and told your brother and Aang that I had changed! What're you doing now?"

"HA!" Katara laughed. "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. I didn't know what you were up to, all I knew was that if you were going to pretend to be on our side, might as well let you without a fight. Eventually we'd get the truth out of you…Toph would be able to tell."

Zuko took a second to look up into the sky. The full moon was a bright reminder to him that if she truly hated him and wanted him gone, this would be her time to do it. He stopped backing up. Enough of this! Katara took two more steps towards him, but when she saw that he wasn't moving anymore she stopped walking and looked a little unsure. Zuko noticed her weakness. She's not going to hurt me...

"Are you done?" He asked. "Can I talk now?" Katara nodded.

"I know that my actions weren't…the best…"

Katara smirked.

Zuko ignored that and continued. "But can you honestly tell me that you are perfect? You had never once in your life been confused, or lost? You are thousands of miles away from home…you don't know what is happening to your father or the rest of the invaders…and right now your biggest worry is me betraying you guys? You were sitting ducks for over a week up there…don't you think I would have done something by now?"

Katara lowered her whip and looked at Zuko curiously. "Perhaps," she answered slowly.

Zuko took a couple steps forward. "I meant everything I said at Ba Sing Se. I have changed. It just took me a while to finally get here."

As suddenly as she flared up, tears fell from Katara's eyes as she let her water whip fall back into the creek. "People can't change that fast," she said.

Zuko took a few more cautious steps until he was right in front of Katara. What am I doing? He thought. "I think they can. You are a lot different from the first time we met. You all are."

Katara looked up into Zuko's face. Her big blue eyes were full of tears, and Zuko saw months of stress and hard living etched into her pretty face. For the first time in a very, very long while, Zuko felt his heart break…not just for Katara and what her and her brother had suffered…but for the whole world. He remembered what he had told his father that day of the eclipse…

"The war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world…"

"…what an amazing lie that was," Zuko whispered, still lost in his thoughts.

"What?" Katara asked.

"Nothing," Zuko held out his hand to Katara. "Let's just start over, how about? Hi, I'm Zuko, self-exhiled prince of the Fire Nation and second in line to the throne. And you are?"

Katara stared at Zuko for a moment, as if unable to believe he was trying to make a joke, and started to laugh. It was the sweetest sound Zuko had ever heard. She took his hand.

"My name is Katara, of the Southern Water Tribe. My father is the chief, so I suppose I am a princess." Katara then looked confused. "If I may ask, Prince Zuko, why are you second in line?"

Zuko smiled. "Well, my father's brother is still alive, isn't he? He would get the throne before me. And I'm glad too. Sixteen is too young to run a whole nation."

Katara smiled up into his face, still holding his hand. They stood in that spot next to the river for a short while, both unsure what was happening.

"So, uh…" Zuko broke the silence. "I suppose I'd better get back to Toph."

Katara nodded, letting go of his hand. The worry that was always in her face came back, and she looked crushed as the reality of the world came crashing down on her. "Yeah."

Unaware of his actions, Zuko suddenly wrapped her in his arms, and he was surprised that she didn't resist.

"I'm sorry for this war. I'm sorry for your loss. I promise that I will train Aang well, and that we will end this war," he said softly into her hair. For a moment, he thought he felt her melt into his arms further, but just as he thought that she pulled away.

"I'll hold you to that promise," she said with a soft smile.