Disclaimer: AtLA is property of VIACOM and Nickelodeon. No profit is made from this story.

Zuko staggered back several steps under the weight of Iroh's embrace.

'What are you doing here?' His voice was muffled. 'You're meant to be in-' Zuko stopped. What was the point of even trying to talk to Uncle? He looked across the room at Katara. She was smiling.

Iroh stepped back. 'Well, your friend wasn't lying when he said you needed to put on some weight, but we'll soon fix that!'

Katara stepped forward. 'Is Huu with you?' she asked.

'Miss Katara, it is a pleasure to see you again! And sadly, no, your friend the earthbender could not join us today.'

'How did you get here?' asked Zuko. 'Did Teo contact you?'

'Oh please,' said Iroh, sounding mildly insulted, 'I've been following you ever since the Dai Li attacked you. It didn't take much thinking to figure out where you'd be headed. I was only several of days behind you – I had to tidy up affairs at the Jasmine Dragon before I left.'

Zuko literally had millions of questions he wanted to ask his uncle. What was happening in the Fire Nation, to his father, to Azula, to Mai? But instead an inquiry about what had happened That Night was needed.

'Uncle, why didn't anybody hear what was happening and investigate when the Dai Li were fighting us?'

Although Zuko didn't believe it was possible for a person's eyes to change colour, there was no denying that Iroh's darkened. He sighed, his age seemingly catching up with him in a matter of seconds.

'I do suppose and explanation is in order – you both might want to sit down. This will take a while.'

Both Zuko and Katara obliged.

'The Dai Li are not just the protector's of Ba Sing Se's cultural heritage. The agents in Ba Sing Se are only a small fraction of their true number – the Dai Li have enormous numbers in every nation, often under numerous names so as not to arouse public suspicion.' Iroh lowered his gaze. 'It seems that the Dai Li are more ambitious than even Fire Lord Sozin himself. To be blunt, Nephew, the Dai Li want power – and will destroy anything and anyone who gets in their way.'

But why? Zuko wished he knew the answer. Uncle probably knew – but Zuko knew from experience that Iroh would only reply in confusing proverbs.

Iroh continued. 'The day you went to speak to me in the Jasmine Dragon was a normal one – nothing out of the ordinary. Yet that night I was awoken by the sounds of a tremendous battle. I instantly thought of the Avatar – the war may be gone, but his enemies haven't. Zuko,' Iroh's voice became almost pleading, 'you must understand this: the Dai Li have numbers that we never could have imagined! Nephew … I – I chose not to assist you and your friends that night.'

Zuko was speechless. Iroh was the closest thing he had ever had to a real father. He had gone above and beyond the call of duty to protect his nephew. For years, Iroh had been the only person that Zuko had trusted – and even then it had wavered at times. (It was hard to have faith in a man who spoke in proverbs half the time.)

'Nephew, the Dai Li were everywhere. And you must know; people did try to investigate. But the minute they stepped out their doors, they were killed. Just like that – it didn't matter if it was a mother, a father, a child who thought she was imaging the noises outside. Eventually they stopped leaving their houses.'

Zuko heard Katara gasp, saw her hand cover her mouth in shock. He kept his face blank.

'That night, my heart told me to go and fight with you. But my head told me that I must stay, blend in, and, in the situation arose that you were captured, find you and bust you out.' A small flame of spirit arose in Iroh's voice.

'Zuko, your uncle is right,' said Katara. She must have mistaken the emotionless mask on his face as that of shock. 'There were so many of them, one more fighter wouldn't have helped at all.' She turned to look at Iroh. 'Our original plan was for Toph and me to go with Aang on Appa, and for Zuko, Sokka and Suki to leave Ba Sing Se on foot.'

He stretched his mouth up into something that he hoped resembled a smile. 'I understand,' he said, hoping he sounded genuine enough for Katara not to worry.

Iroh's face softened into a smile. 'Forgiveness is a gift floating on a breeze. Take it before it flies away.'

Zuko groaned. 'So, what were you telling us about the Dai Li? Why didn't they arrest you in Ba Sing Se after we escaped?'

Iroh smiled craftily, instead looking at Katara. 'You may or may not know this, Miss Katara, but I happen to be a rather accomplished actor. In a matter of minutes the Dai Li agents sent to arrest me were convinced I was a half-wit.' Iroh chortled. Zuko shifted uncomfortably. Katara smiled knowingly.

'So what's the plan?' asked Katara, breaking the somewhat awkward silence.

'What do you think it is?'

Katara thought. 'We need Aang, Toph, Sokka and Suki. We need Zuko on the throne and you by his side. We need to end the Dai Li.' Zuko was surprised by how firm her voice was.

'Very good, Miss Katara,' said Iroh, sounding pleased. 'Contacting the Avatar –'

'It's Aang.' Katara's voice broke into the middle of Iroh's. She dropped her gaze. 'He would want you to call him Aang.'

'Very well. Contacting Aang and his friends is of the greatest importance and …'

But Zuko wasn't listening – he couldn't. He could feel a dull pain thudding in his chest, and he was pretty sure it was his heart breaking.

*

Days passed. Somehow Zuko managed to put life into the empty shell that was his body and tell himself that everything was okay. But of course, it wasn't.

Katara loved Aang, and he loved her back.

You sure know how to pick them, don't you, Zuzu?

But he loved Katara. He didn't know why he did; he didn't know how to stop it. Every time he saw her, there was a hot stab in his chest. Every time they spoke, Zuko had to remind himself how to shape words on his lips.

Was it possible to die from a broken heart?

*

Zuko had been pretending to sleep for most of the day. He had told Katara that he didn't feel too well. She and Iroh had been planning and plotting all day, but he hadn't been paying much attention. Zuko had almost drifted off to sleep when Iroh spoke to him.

'Nephew.'

He stirred, and then sat up, back against the cellar wall.

'As Miss Katara said earlier, it is crucial that we contact the Ava … Aang and his friends. We have decided to travel to the Sun Warrior ruins together and bring them back to the Northern Air Temple, since you are in no condition to travel.'

Zuko knew what was coming next.

'So … we have decided that you should stay here until we return. Teo will be able to keep an eye on you.'

All of a sudden, Zuko hated himself for being so weak, for having to stay behind for his own safety – for their safety. He was holding them back. As much as he wanted to tell Iroh and Katara that he would be fine to travel with them, he knew he would be lying. He despised his weakness – but there was no choice.

'I understand,' he said in a low voice.

Then there was a hand resting lightly on his arm – and Zuko instantly knew who it belonged too. Katara's blue eyes were gazing into his own. Zuko felt as if his stomach was being turned inside out, but in a good way.

'I'll come back for you,' she said.

Zuko nodded, but then looked away. Katara squeezed his arm, and looked at him from an angle that made it impossible for him not to look back.

'I will. We all will. You don't have to worry about your uncle – I can heal him if, and that's a very slim if, he gets hurt.'

Zuko glanced at Iroh. His uncle seemed to have dozed off in a matter of seconds.

'I'll be waiting for you,' he said, 'you know I will.' She would never know what he truly meant – never read the message between the lines.

Katara smiled. 'Don't get blown up while we're away, okay?'

Zuko promised not to. 'When are you leaving?'

Katara's face fell. 'Tonight.'

Without thinking, Zuko turned away from Katara. It wasn't that he was rejecting her, or trying to push her away. It had always been his nature to run from a problem, and now he was trying to run away from the fact that the girl he loved was leaving today.

He didn't expect Katara to understand. He expected her to be hurt and angry – he almost expected another water whip in his face.

What Zuko didn't expect was for arms to wrap around his shoulders, turn him around. He didn't expect to rest his head on Katara's shoulder and sigh, he didn't expect for Katara to rest her chin on his head.

He didn't expect that embrace to last as long as it did.

And even after Katara and Iroh had left, Zuko kept replaying the scene over and over in his head, trying to figure out if he had imagined the words that had been whispered into his ear in a voice that was all too familiar.

I'll be waiting for you too. That's something we have in common.

Notes:
A few chapters back, I mentioned the idea of starting a companion fanfic to Dawn Approaches - about what happens to Aang, Sokka, Suki and Toph on their journey into the Fire Nation. You should be pleased to hear that I've started it. It's called Midnight Reigns and I may or may not be posting the prologue soon-ish. (It all depends on how much enthusiasm my fans show. Because I'm not above abusing my power like that. Hee-hee!)

I'm still trying to put together a solid plot for Midnight Reigns - a lot of it will depend on how Dawn Approaches ends, so I may wait until I've finished DA before I actually get right into it.

Anyways, I thought you would all be interested in my update.

Happy reading! *ugh, sounds so corny ... exiles self*