"Song. It's time to wake up." Zuko's voice reached out to me in my sleep.

I opened my eyes to see him standing there, all ready to go.

"What time is it?" My throat was dry and scratchy. He held out a hand, and I took it. Pulling me up, he said, "It's time for us to leave."

"I need to pack the bags."

"No, I already did it." For some reason this worried me. He must not have had much sleep last night.

"You could have woken me up." I said as I straightened my dress.

"No, you needed your rest."

His mood seemed to get darker and darker lately. I know that what has been going on isn't pleasant, but he needed to be happier. I hugged him and rested my head against his chest.

"Thank you. We will get through this Zuko."

He merely grunted. We gathered our bags and took one last look at the old tea shop. Who knows when the next time we will be able to see it will be. I opened the door, and squealed in shock. Jin was standing in the doorway.

"Oh!" She exclaimed as she took a few steps back. "I'm so sorry. I just was coming down here to look at it one last time."

She gave a small smile.

"Where are you going?" Zuko asked, coming out to stand next to me.

"Oh I'm um, leaving to go help my aunt and her family. She lives in a nearby village. My uncle died in the battle." She looked away and her smile fell. I could tell that this was having a horrible effect on Zuko. He hasn't said anything to me directly, but I can tell that he feels responsible for all those deaths.

"I'm so sorry." I said, laying a comforting hand on Zuko's arm.

He needed me more than she did right now.

"It's all right. I barely knew my uncle. It's my aunt that I'm worried about. She's seven months pregnant." Zuko's arm flexed as he sucked in a quick breath. Now was the time to go.

"Um, Jin. I hate to do this but we better get going."

She nodded and said, "Alright. I better leave too. The sooner I get to my aunt, the better my little cousins will be."

Zuko turned around and hurried back into the tea shop, slamming the door so hard, I heard it crack. I could hear him throwing things inside.

"I better go." Without waiting for her to say anything, I ran back inside.

Zuko picked up a saucer and threw it across the room, hitting the wall. It shattered on contact and fell in pieces to the ground. There were overturned tables and chairs scattered everywhere. He was huffing as fire danced between his fingers. That reminded me of a someone else that did that. I was shaking uncontrollably I was so scared.

"Why?!?" He screamed at no one. "Why is it that I have to deal with this?!?" He grabbed a tea pot and slammed it on the counter.
"Huh?!? Why is it that all of those live that are lost and I feel responsible for it?!?"

"Z-Zuko. P-Please stop." Tears started running down my face. Everything was getting out of control. I didn't know how to fix it. He was hurting deeply, and I couldn't do anything about it.

He stopped and looked at me. The look he gave me was like he had never seen me before. He took a step forward, but I shrank back involuntarily. Part of me wanted to run, the other wanted to hold him. His mouth opened, but nothing came out. He then fell to his knees among the destruction.

"I'm sorry." He choked out.

He looked tired, spent. I timidly went over to him and knelt down beside him. He was staring at the broken saucer across the room. I was still crying, but was able to keep out the sobs. Without notice, he reached out and pulled me into his arms. It was so shocking at first I gasped. Once I was in his arms, I felt like a child. I cried freely, letting all of the built up sobs come out. He was holding me so tight, I knew I was going to have bruises.

"Song. I'm so sorry." He said fiercely.

"No. Don't feel like this. It wasn't your fault. That's what comes with war." I pulled back and saw that his cheeks were wet. "Please believe me." I pleaded. "You had nothing to do with those deaths."

His breathing slowed a little and he nodded. Quickly wiping his face, he stood up. He held out his hand for me to take. I slipped my hand in his and he pulled me up.

"I'm sorry Song." He said as he wiped my tears away. "I never meant for this to happen. I didn't mean to lose control."

"That's what I'm here for. To keep you in line." I said then gave him a small smile. "Now, don't you ever do that to me again."

Normally I would have never dared to order my husband around, but this was different. Because of my pregnancy, my hormones were going haywire. I turned around to leave, but he caught my elbow, swinging me around to face him again. I opened my mouth to say something, but my words were lost the moment his lips pressed against mine. We kissed each other hard.

He pulled back and said, "I love you."

"I love you."

It was silent for a moment before Zuko said, "We should get going."

"Yes, we should."

We grabbed our bags that were waiting for us outside, and headed off for the wall. Zuko stood about a foot away, trying to give me space. It was still dark outside. I hiked my bag further up on my shoulder and looked around. Bakers had already lit their ovens and the smell of fresh bread floated through the air. Yawning store owners came out and set up their shops. It was a simple life that these people had, but at that moment, that's what I wanted. I looked up to see that Zuko's face was still as stone. He was still about a foot away and refused to look my direction. I slipped my hand into his. He looked down at me and gave me a small smile.

"Once we get to the other side of the wall," He said, encouraged by my action. "We will take a ferry to the other side. Once there, we will set off on foot. If we come near any villages, I'll try and find work for a day. Hopefully I'll be able to raise enough money for an animal."

AN: I am soooooo sorry it took so long to post this. Classes started back up, and my days were filled with homework. Yuck. Not only that, but my computer broke! Then I had writer's block...

The point is, I didn't forget about all of you. I love you guys. And you all push me to keep writing. Thanks.

So, sorry about the slow chapter. A few more chapters are going to be like this one, but just bear with me. Another last minuet note, I'm sorry (once again) but it might be a little while before I get around to writing another chapter.

Please review!!!