That morning had been rather interesting for Zuko.

Not only did Katara catch him babbling his life story to Nikko (though, in actuality, the kid had no idea the story was about him), but she had also felt the need to pester him about ignoring her.

He wasn't ignoring her, he was just looking at her less, because... Well, he wasn't sure why. Just that he didn't like how his sudden realization of her prettiness made him feel... uncomfortable, for lack of a better term. Because, now, whenever he looked at her, all he could focus on was her eyes and her smile and how wonderful she looked in Fire Nation red, and all sorts of other wrong, bad, distracting thoughts.

Oh, and to top it off, he was going to see his mother soon (hopefully). While most would consider it a good thing, it was most definitely not for Zuko, as it made him nervous and worried and scared.

Scared because his mother might not recognize him, might reject him because of all his mistakes, might banish him from the only family, the only chance at happiness and love he had left.

That was a possibility no son wanted to think about.

The walk to the village went mostly unnoticed by Zuko. His legs just carried him there, his mind in another place entirely, running through every possible scenario of the encounter with Ursa. Usually they ended with her disowning him, though occasionally he tricked himself into believing she would greet him with open arms and tears of joy.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he nearly jumped out of his skin when Katara tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly, eyebrows knit together in confusion and concern. A part of him was glad to know she cared – the rest was busy thinking up an excuse for his odd behaviour.

"I'm fine," he lied, avoiding her gaze. "Just tired, and... thinking about what those earthbenders might be up to."

Actually, that wasn't completely untrue. He was curious about the thugs; they just weren't the current topic on his mind.

"Okay..." she said, eyeing him suspiciously and clearly unconvinced.

Trailing behind them, Nikko frowned as she tried to undo a knot in her hair. "I need a bath."

Zuko blinked. How long had it been since they bathed? He and Katara hadn't since the day they left the Temple, and who knew how long it had been for Nikko? Suddenly aware of his greasy hair and grimy skin and over all dirtiness, the former prince decided that, yes, they were all in desperate need of a bath.

The waterbender answered before he could, saying, "Yeah, we could all use a good rinse. Why don't we stop at the next lake or river and get cleaned up?"

They nodded, picking up the pace in hopes of bathing soon.

XxXx

Twenty minutes later, Zuko stood waist deep in water warmed to perfect temperature by the sun, wearing nothing but his underwear. Bending down, he splashed water on his face and in his hair, amazed at how refreshing it felt. A few feet away, Katara and Nikko had also stripped down to their undergarments, the former helping her companion wash her hair and stay afloat.

They had no soap, but it was still a relief to rinse themselves free of the surprising amount of dirt that had accumulated on their bodies, to relax in the warm water and forget about their destination for a few moments.

"Your hair is so soft!" Katara gushed, running her fingers through Nikko's long black tresses.

"Thanks," she said, beaming. Tilting her head back in an attempt to look at the older girl's face, she added, "You have pretty hair, too."

Smiling appreciatively, she gently forced Nikko's head back down. "Could I try braiding it? Please?"

"What's a braid?"

Katara was already raising one of her hands, pulling it back and beckoning the water out of Nikko's hair with her fingers. Letting the gathered liquid splash back into the lake, she said, "It's a hairstyle a lot of girls have where I'm from."

"Okay."

Zuko smiled, watching the two girls as they talked about hair and family and various other topics. The younger of the pair kept twisting around in an attempt to see what was being done to her hair, and the older one would force her back to her former position with a gentle, though slightly impatient, scolding.

Nikko caught his eye, and her grin broadened. "Can you braid his hair?" She pointed, despite there being only one male in their presence.

Smirking teasingly at him, Katara said, "Well, I could, but I doubt he'd be happy about it."

"Damn right, I wouldn't be," he said, crossing his arms, a small smile tugging at his lips.

The waterbender's smirk vanished, replaced with a frown as she narrowed her eyes in a gaze that seemed to say, "Watch your language!"

The little girl just giggled.

Then minutes later, they had cleaned up and dried off (not without a little waterbending help, of course), pulling on their clothes and continuing toward Ursa's suspected place of residence. A long braid fell along Nikko's spine, bouncing as she walked.

"It's like a rope," the orphan (if she could even be called that anymore – Zuko and Katara were her family, now) observed, stroking where it started at the base of her neck.

The scarred prince frowned, fingering the section of his bangs Katara had braided. Somehow, he had found it impossible to stop her. A part of him simply wanted to make Nikko happy, and the other part had just been unable to argue in such close proximity.

Which was ridiculous, since he had been close to her dozens of times without issue. Clearly, there was something wrong with him.

Because of this odd change in his behaviour (involuntary change, really), Zuko was somewhat happy that Katara didn't notice how sore and stiff his joints were. He had kept his back facing away from here, hiding the many bumps and bruises he had gotten throwing himself off a moving ostrich-horse, not to mention the burns from leaning against the scorching hot metal walls of his cell.

Still, the pain was far from pleasant.

As he mulled over his lucky misfortune, Nikko decided it would be a good time for a ride on his back – without informing him, of course. So, one minute he was thinking about how much damage he had sustained in one day, the next he was hissing through clenched teeth as a hard, heavy body slammed into his back.

"Could I get a little warning next time?" he grunted, trying to keep from crying out in pain.

Why's your shoulder all bumpy?" she asked, poking a rather large bruise on his shoulder that had formed where he always hit the ground first during his crash-landings from the ostrich-horse. Biting his tongue and sucking in his breath, Zuko tried to block out the pain, counting down from ten.

'Ten... Nine... Eight... Se-'

"Are you okay?" the waterbending asked, jolting him out of his thoughts and now standing beside him.

"I'm fine," he snapped, perhaps a bit too quickly.

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but said nothing. They resumed their walk, Nikko stopped poking at his shoulder, and for a moment the pain began to subside.

Then Katara was grabbing his wrist and pulling up his sleeve, revealing and ugly, purple bruise the size of fist on the back of his arm.

"Zuko!" she yelled, clearly angrier than she was worried. "Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?" St her silent command, Nikko detached herself from his back, allowing the older girl to pull up the back of his shirt and assess the extent of his injuries. "How long have these been here?"

"Since you found me..." he replied, honestly, nervously.

"Why didn't you tell me? Do you know how easy it would've been to heal you when we were bathing?"

Before he could respond, she was pressing cool, water-coated hands to his back, his shirt already discarded on the ground. His words died in his throat as she carefully moved her hands along his bruised skin, easing the throbbing pain.

"You're lucky it's not in my nature to let people suffer," she continued grumbled too focused on her work to notice Nikko reaching up to poke a particularly large and oddly coloured bruise.

"Aggh!" he cried, jolting away. Glaring at the girl over his shoulder, he growled, "Nikko? Hands. Off."

"Sorry," she mumbled, ducking her head in shame. "I just wanted to see if it felt as weird as it looked."

"Well, you should've asked first," Katara said gently, moving her hands over the spot the child had been prodding. Her healing immediately soothed the wound.

The young girl nodded, plopping down on the ground and watching the waterbender work. In the meantime, Katara continued grumbling about Zuko's stupidity and how much easier things would've been while they were in the lake. The man in question decided it probably wasn't a good time to mention his sore joints.

"Okay that's the worst of it," she sighed, returning her water to the pouch at her side. "Now, promise me you won't do anything stupid like that again."

"I won't," he said, grabbing his shirt off the ground and pulling it over his head.

Seemingly satisfied, Katara turned and stalked off, leading the way as they continued to where Zuko's mother (might) live.

XxXx

They arrived at the village a few hours later, when the sun had begun sinking low in the sky and dark clouds were rolling in to blot out what little light remained. The streets still bustled with people going about their business, making Katara insist that Nikko hold her hand so she wouldn't get lost in the crowd.

"Do you see her?" Katara asked, keeping close to Zuko. There was no need to specify who 'she' was.

He scanned the mass of people silently, eyes darting around in an anxious manner. "No, not yet."

Wandering slowly through the village, the group continued their search. Eventually, the crowd began to thin and disperse as the clouds darkened and threatened to burst with rain, until only a few people remained, taking their time as they wherever.

Then, when she was starting to lose hope, Katara heard Zuko suck in his breath. Following his gaze, she spotted a tall, dark-haired woman walking down the street. She looked tired, rings of shadow forming around her heavy-lidded eyes, her face beginning to wrinkle despite her otherwise young appearance. A complete stranger, but something seemed familiar about her, something in her face that Katara had seen before...

Zuko stared, rooted to the spot, whispering a single word almost inaudibly. "Mom."

Author's Notes: Okay, so nothing exciting happened - sorry. I just thought I should address the issue of Zuko's anxieties, the group's lack of bathing, and Zuko's inevitable injuries before the actual confrontation. I'll try to update ASAP to make up for it. Also, sorry for typos

Disclaimer: I do not own 'Avatar' or any of its characters.