A/N: This corresponds with Chapter 21 of Rising Tide.

Setting: Dr. Jung's office with half the shelves burned and books missing. It's a few days after the last session. Zuko shows up unannounced.

Jung: You're not due for a session for another three days.

Zuko: I heard you were leaving. Were you planning on telling me?

J: I didn't think you would miss me. You left your last session so… abruptly.

Z: All the more reason to come back.

J: I suppose.

They both look over at the burned shelves. Zuko takes a breath to start speaking, but Dr. Jung speaks first.

J: Well, I got rid of some of my books. I recall you thought I had too many.

Z: I…uhh, hope you kept the important ones.

J: Oh, you know, I had years of research written down for reference. Those were the first to go, of course. No need to keep those.

Z: I'm sorry.

J: I'm aware you have anger issues, Zuko. But what I want to know is what you would have done if I had been here.

Z: I…I don't know. I found out about my mother and the Joo Dees. My father had a spy watching you. His actions were reflections of his anger over what you did. It was a lot to take in at once.

J: (eyes widen) I wasn't aware… (clears throat) At any rate, I'm taking a trip to Ba Sing Se. I leave tomorrow. My mentor has fallen ill, so I will see to him and the work he has been doing. I might even acquire some more books. (raises an eyebrow)

Z: How long will you be gone?

J: A few weeks. A month perhaps.

Z: But what about Azula?

J: She is stable. She's reached a plateau, actually. The next step involves your mother. They need to reconcile. I've asked Dr. Yang to oversee a few sessions with them.

Z: And… what about me?

J: What about you, Zuko?

Z: I just thought… I don't know.

J: Well, we've just established that you have a tendency to act rashly out of anger. When you dream, you are role playing your father, carrying out his actions rather than being on the receiving end of them. And we know that your greatest fear is becoming like your father. I think it is that fear that causes the nightmares, and I think your anger is what keeps you from being able to let it go.

Zuko looks down at his hands and fidgets. A few minutes of silence pass.

J: It is my fear that anger is where it starts. There are certainly other things that make up your father's madness, his arrogance, jealousy, lack of control, need for control, and so on and so forth. But his anger is at the core.

Z: So I am like my father.

J: No Zuko, you're not. But if you let this fear and anger consume you, I can't guarantee that you won't be.

Z: So how do I stop it?

J: You have to decide that for yourself.

Z: No, you're supposed to help me!

J: I can't. This is beyond my reach.

Z: What do you mean? You said you could do it! You said you could make the pain go away!

J: I misspoke, I'm sorry.

Z: But I thought you were the expert. That's why you're here. Even after everything you've done…

J: I thought being here could make up for what I did. I couldn't help her, so I would help you.

Z: SO HELP ME, THEN.

J: I still don't know any other way. To erase the pain means… to erase everything. And even then it doesn't matter because pain will find you again, like it did your mother. It's part of the human condition. It destroys us, and I haven't found the science to fix it, yet.

After some time…

Z: Maybe it's not about fixing it. Maybe pain is about perception.

J: What do you mean?

Z: My father has an illegitimate son. I just met him, and his mother calls the child her savior. I was blown away at first. Born out of abuse, in my mind, a child of darkness. In hers, a child of light. Maybe the only way we can overcome the pain, is to choose to find hope in it.

J: Zuko, I'm sorry I have failed you. My mentor, Dr. Wang, he has done more work in the field than me. He actually studied your family for quite some time at the request of Avatar Roku. I plan to talk to him extensively about his research. I will get answers for you.

Z: Very well, then. Go with Agni.

A/N: Zuko has hit a turning point in his recovery, but not really because of anything Dr. Jung did. I address this in my author's notes in Rising Tide, Chapter 21: Finally Letting Go. Dr. Jung, however, has hit a wall, of sorts. Azula needs to reconcile with her mother in order to make progress in her own treatment, but Ursa is pretty fragile herself. Jung has made it his professional goal to rid Ursa of her pain, and he can't understand why she would willingly pursue the person who inflicted the pain in the first place. And with Zuko, he feels like they've made a breakthrough, but is bitter about his office being destroyed.

Dr. Jung has reverted to his clinical ways of understanding things. There must be a cure! But life is messy, and as soon as one thing gets cleaned up, more shit hits the fan, so to speak. Even if we erased everything and started from scratch, pain would find us anyway. Dr. Jung is not ready to hear what Zuko has to say about finding hope in a bleak situation in order to overcome. Even though that is very insightful, the doctor wants textbook answers. The burning of his books is somewhat symbolic of his character development at this point in the story.