Sometime during the night, there was coughing.

Katara was too sleepy to actually open her eyes. But she was barely awake, flexing her fingers within Zuko's grasp and turning a little on the cot.

"Shh! Keep your voice down."

"Can't help it," grumbled one guard to the other in response. "It's this damn cold going around. I think I've got it." Another round of dry hacking.

"For pity's sake... Here, go switch with Bu. You know that General Beifong sleeps like a rock."

"Fine, fine. I'm going."

Katara snuffled against her pillow and sighed her way back into darkness.


By noon the next day, the tents had been packed, they had been assigned two ostrich-horses, and the Army of the Grand Alliance was on the move.

The Sacred Jade Forest was scenic, and to be honest, greenery still hadn't lost its novelty to Katara. Broad-leafed trees stretched overhead, bright with new foliage, and the front of the column was having to cut its way through, with the apparent help and blessing of the forest spirits. The bamboo seemed to bend away from them, and the trees stretched a little farther as to give them pleasant shade. The pale spring sun filtered down through the new leaves, and it was easy to tell how it all became known as the Jade Forest.

Aang rode at the front of the column, well ahead of them, and Katara and Zuko positioned themselves nicely in the middle of the massive force as it lurched and lumbered along. Katara couldn't help but continuously become distracted as she saw plants only described to her in books, and so she kept wandering out of step off to the sides to scoop up some rare herb or another, then hurrying her ostrich horse to catch up with the rest of the column.

It was midafternoon when Zuko, riding side-saddle, seemed to go a little straighter in his seat. Katara was busy examining a small plant with bright white flowers and fuzzy leaves, hemming and hawing over how to best harvest it. So she missed how Zuko's gaze seemed to be dulled, and how his eyes rolled in the back of his head before he swooned off the saddle in a dead faint. With his remaining foot tangled in the stirrups, and his ostrich horse whinnied and bolted forward, dragging him a few feet before a quick-thinking soldier caught its reins.

The cry went up and immediately she abandoned all thoughts of the star-shaped flowers. Ignoring her confused mount, Katara bolted forward, heart hammering in her ears and worst case scenarios running through her head. What if his heart had finally given out after suffering such abuse? What if her bloodbending and healing had only prolonged the inevitable?

Immediately she went to untangle his foot from the stirrups before falling to her knees by his head, scuffed and bruised as he was, and pressed her ear to his chest. A steady, hard thudding. She could almost sob of relief - whatever else may have happened, his heart was still beating, steady and strong.

Her hands flitted over him as she pulled away. Finally, she pressed a hand against his forehead, and winced. "Spirits, he's burning up... You - Lee, was it?"

"Yes'm," the soldier answered promptly.

"Do you know somewhere we can take him? Making space in one of the wagons somehow, maybe, or..."

"General Iroh's wagon, ma'am," he answered quickly. "There should be space there to lay him out. Follow me. ...Bu, deal with the ostrich-horses!"

"Yes, sir!" Came the shout from somewhere behind them. But Katara was already scooping Zuko up into her arms, limp and unconscious as he was. They hurried through the crowd, soldiers murmuring in surprise and alarm as they went, pressing through the column to find one of the wagons. It was a decorated thing, bright red banners hung from the outside, and already she could smell tea.

Iroh peered out to look at them with some alarm, already shifting over pillows. "Here, set him down..." The soldier motioned for the carriage to stop, and Katara caught up enough to set Zuko in among the silk pillows. "What's happened?"

"Don't know yet. Some sort of fever. He fell off his ostrich horse..." Although it made the space crowded, Katara climbed into the wagon, and Iroh shifted towards the front to give them enough room. The wagon began to lurch forward again, and Katara bit her bottom lip in concentration.

Besides a few scrapes and reddish bruises, Zuko outwardly seemed to be in decent health, but Katara could feel the heat radiating out from him even before she placed her hand on his forehead again. Her mind cast back to the conversation that had awoken her, and she cursed slightly underneath her breath. "Iroh, is there a cold going around the troops?"

"Yes, actually. Just a minor thing, but..."

"Minor if you're able-bodied and healthy," Katara murmured to herself. The waterskin at her hip was full, as it usually was when she went to war, although it was borrowed from her father, and she uncorked the waterskin to bend the water out of it in a thin ribbon. "Here, keep this at his pulse-points... wrists, neck, inside of his knee, that sort of thing." The water crackled into ice, snaking around to rest in a basin that Iroh had rummaged around for and finally found. "Do you have any mint tea?"

"Certainly. Around here somewhere, at least..."

"Get him to drink some when you can. I'm going to go see if anyone has any wax or cooking fat I can use to make a salve." Katara paused a moment, petting away the hair out of Zuko's face.

He gave a groggy groan, good eye barely opening, and Katara immediately went to gently kiss him on the forehead. "Shh, just rest, Zuko. Just rest. You're going to be all right." Maybe, she thought achingly, if she said it enough, it would be true.

And with that she slipped out of the wagon, jogging back to where the soldier was waiting with her ostrich horse.

Two hours later of wandering through the column, she had not only found some pre-made mint salve, but also meadowsweet and a few other herbs in tincture. The bright red of Iroh's tent was easy to spot, especially as the army as a whole was starting to slow down to a stop for the night.

"How is he?" As soon as she popped her head into the wagon's tentflaps, Iroh's haggard expression told her all that she needed to know.

"Not good," Iroh said bluntly. "He... he's woken up a few times. Always thinking he's thirteen again, fresh in exile, or with me at Ba Sing Se. He's had fevers like this before, of course, but... he's never been so confused."

She climbed into the wagon, shuffling aside the silk pillows and other finery to shrug off her bag. "Do you have a cup I can use?" Wordlessly, he handed her a teacup, and she murmured her thanks. Her hands were shaking as she poured out some of the tinctures from their small bottles, and she took a deep breath. A quiet reminder to try and be strong. Iroh's own health was failing, after all. It would not do for Zuko to be left alone, or anything like it, so she had to persevere, even as her heart screamed and wept at every awful possibility.

Gingerly, she put a hand underneath Zuko's head, and he groaned, neck limp as she tilted him up and put the cup to his lips. Eyebrows furrowing as he fought against unconsciousness, he nonetheless took a sip of the drought - and then immediately started coughing.

"Uncle, that's the worst tea you've ever made," he groggily spluttered before finally opening his good eye. For a moment he looked over Katara as if she were a stranger before he squinted and finally made the connection. "...K'tara?"

"I'm here," she responded quickly, leaning in to give him another kiss on the forehead. "Just rest. You've been through a lot."

For a moment he seemed to relax before suddenly bolting upright, eye wide in fear. "But the Goshawk Queen's army - it's - "

"It's fine, Zuko, we're well away from them -"

One look at the haze in his eye confirmed that he was somewhere or something else, and he tried to struggle past her. "But she's right there - she's coming, I know - Spirits, Katara, please - !"

Not knowing what else to do, she scooped him up in a firm hug, holding him in place. He was already trembling, and each breath he took was painfully quick before he lapsed into rasping coughing. "It's all right, it's all right..." She tried to soothe him as best she could, reaching up to pet his hair. Eventually he clung onto her as well, still shaking even as he gasped for air. "She's gone. She's never going to lay another hand on you, I promise, Zuko. I promise."

Out of the corner of her eye she caught Iroh's expression - his worn face was wrought with worry for his nephew. Katara was familiar with the sort of powerlessness he was wrestling with, even if she wished she wasn't.

It was twilight by the time Zuko had finally relaxed enough to let go of her, and exhausted by the ordeal, he let Katara guide him back to rest. In the silence that followed Katara sat beside him, stroking the hair out of his face. Iroh had long since gone to tell the others of Zuko's condition and help organize camp. Part of her wondered with a heavy heart if it was going to be like this forever - if Zuko would live forever terrified, lapsing into fever after injury. If she had done wrong by him by saving his life. If she had managed to force him into the ultimate selfishness on her part.

The thought made her cover her face with a hand as her expression twisted to hold back tears. And she was enough in her thoughts that when Aang reached into the wagon to place a hand on her shoulder, she flinched and gave a muffled cry of surprise before a quick sob escaped her.

Aang said nothing for a long moment, just leaning in to catch her in a half-hug. It made her heart ache for a moment. They had been lovers once, of course, back when they were both young and naiive. They had tried. And ultimately it had fallen apart, like a sugarcake in water. Nobody's fault, Aang had always been quick to say, but just fate. But at that moment it was hard for Katara to see herself as anything but the selfish monster who caused pain in the hearts of men.

So she quietly wept, and Aang held her close, waiting until she was finished. When he finally spoke his voice was small and scared. "Is he really that bad off?"

"No! No, it's not - " She sniffed, wiping at her face. "I'm sorry, it's just... Aang, please, answer something for me truthfully."

He frowned, but nodded once in agreement.

"Did I do him a disservice by keeping him alive? Zuko, I mean. He's going to live the rest of his life in pain because of me and -"

"No! No, spirits no, Katara." His voice was sincere in its softness. "You saved him. He's eternally grateful to you for that. He told me so himself. You saved him, Katara."

"I don't know if I've saved enough of him," she said after a long pause. And then, a moment later: "Aang?"

"I'm here."

"You don't... you aren't angry that we're together, are you? Zuko and I."

Aang's pale smile seemed somewhat tired. "How could I be unhappy with the two people I love most in the world finding happiness?" He reached out to pat her on the shoulder. "Don't worry about me, Katara. Please. I'll be fine, I promise." He tilted his head a little to the side as he looked her up and down. "You look exhausted. At the very least you need to go get something to eat. Go on, I'll look after Zuko for you."

"Are you sure? I can -"

"Please, Katara. You need to look after yourself too."

She considered this for a long moment before finally nodding, going to climb out of the wagon. "You'll come and get me if anything happens?"

"I promise. Now please, go get something to eat and get a little rest." Aang's smile was brighter this time.

Katara nodded, lingering for a moment before sliding out of the wagon into the welcome and happy chaos of the camp outside. Aang waited until she was gone before giving a quiet sigh and moving over to sit beside Zuko.

Gingerly, Aang took Zuko's hand in his own, holding it tight, and patiently waited.