Hey all! Sorry it's been a little white, buy it's update time again! I am happy so many of you are enjoying this story. I often worry if you readers feel the story is dragging, but no one has said that, and a few have commented on the fic being a good balance of angst/hurt/humour, so I am not so worried anymore.

Before we start, I want to give a shout out to jsaba, who gave this review:

Great chapter! you know fire benders do burn sometimes if they have terrible fevers, so Poor Zuko. The most common thing to do with such fevers is to use water to cool the patient's temperature down, some people still use this nowadays , and it's probably the only known medicine in avatar verse, though there are herbalists that can have herbs and potions for several fevers, and maybe even herbs to treat burns.

So you can have members of the gaang go to some herbalist in a near by town to get him proper medicines, while the others cool Zuko's temperature using water. I think that can work.

That's what I know I hope it helps you, and again this is great!

I really appreciated the medical advice jsaba gave me, it helped me alot, as I have no medical knowledge. Literally. None. At all. Also the idea of the gang going to a herbalist sparked a few ideas. Overall, I wanted to give jsaba a shout out here because the review really helped me.

I love ALL my reviewers though. My favouriters, and followers, too. Speaking of which, apart from having 85 reviews, we now have 74 favourites, and a whopping 125 followers. You are all amazing!

I intend for this story to extend past the Book 3 finale, so let's keep going!

Seriously, I expect this to be quite a long fic.

Enjoy the chapter! I've focused alot on Zuko, so I am going to focus more on the others this chapter.

This is more of a character development chapter.

Short, but if chapters are this length, I can gurantee an update a week. This particular one is short because I felt, after where I ended it, it needed nothing more. You shall see.

This chapter is a bit more light hearted. This chapter was originally titled 'Healing', but I felt 'A Familiar Face' was more fitting.

Onward ~

Katara bit her lip as she, with the aid of Sokka, slowly lowered Zuko into the fountain. The firebender barely stirred, which worried Katara even more- the contact with the frigid water should have elicited a reaction. Shaking her head, the waterbender took a deep breath, to calm herself. Once she had calmed, Katara asked for Sokka to hold Zuko's head above the water, whilst she knelt down beside him in the fountain. She gave herself a moment to collect her thoughts, before she bent water around her hands, the liquid swirling, until it began to glow. With care, Katara took hold of one of the fallen firebender's arms, and let the glowing water cover the burns. As Katara worked, the others remained silent. Toph had taken a seat next to the fountain, her expression remaining neutral. Sokka, who was carefully holding the injured firebender's head, also remained quiet, unusual for the usually upbeat warrior.

Aang remained at a distance, where he could not be seen by the group. He bit his lip, and watched as Zuko remained unconscious, all through Katara's healing. It made Aang mad at himself, knowing that the firebender was in that state because of him.

As the water in the fountain slowly began to turn red, the airbender looked away in shame.

The atmosphere in Zuko's room was tense. It had been a number of hours, since Katara had brought the firebender back to the comfort of his room, but Zuko had not yet stirred. Whilst Katara had been able to save him, the fever still raged, and, whilst it had not gone up, it had not gone down either, remaining at a temperature so high, that the firebender was almost too warm to touch. Dangerous as the fever was, Katara had, thankfully, been able to keep it under control. Her healing had kept Zuko alive, and for that the waterbender was thankful. Still, she could not help feeling guilty that she had not been able to heal all of his burns.

She had tried her utmost, but exhaustion had eventually taken her. Sokka had to physically drag Katara away, lest she hurt herself as well. It had taken much persuasion, but finally, the stubborn waterbender had been convinced to rest. And so she did, sitting quietly by Zuko's bedside.

Sighing, Katara reached for the cloth on Zuko's forehead, brow furrowing when she found that it was already hot. Wringing out the hot water, she dipped the cloth into the basin of icy water, which sat next to Katara. It beckoned to her, but Katara knew that if she exhausted herself further, she would not be able to help Zuko. As a result, she resigned herself to the more traditional method of healing, without her bending.

As the firebender turned fitfully in the midst of his fever, Katara looked up at Sokka, and Toph, who sat vigilantly by the door to the firebender's room.

"Sparky's gonna be fine, isn't he?" Toph spoke up. "...Isn't he?"

"He's going to be fine, Toph." Katara reassured her friend.

"Yeah, Katara's got her fancy healing powers." Sokka attempted to brighten the mood. "The jerkbender's going to be fine."

"Stop calling him that." Katara fought back a smile.

"It's just a nickname!" Sokka protested.

"Sparky's a better nickname." Toph smirked.

"No, I think jerkbender is better." Sokka argued back.

"Both nicknames are fine." Katara rolled her eyes.

After a moment of silence, the mood wavering again, Sokka spoke up once more.

"I still think jerkbender is the better nickname."

"That's it!" Toph wrestled the non-bender to the ground.

As the two rolled around, Katara looked around the room. Upon noticing that Aang was still not with them, Katara bit her lip worriedly.

As the day gave way to night, Aang sat quietly, looking up at the stars, swinging his legs over the edge of the cliff, the Western Air temple hanging below. The young Avatar sighed heavily, the mixture of sorrow and anger making him appear much older than he was. He had spent the day on the clifftop, alone with his thoughts. After the incident earlier that day, he had alot to think about. If Katara's expression indicated anything, it was that Zuko wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. It seemed to Aang, that all he could do, was hurt people.

"Giatzo." Aang looked up at the stars again. "I wish you were here. You always knew what to say."

Of course, he had no reply.

"There are so many things I want to talk to you about, Giatzo. But you're gone."

A single tear found its way down Aang's face.

"I keep hurting people. First Katara...and now Zuko. I'm the Avatar, what good am I if I keep hurting the people close to me?"

The stars remained bright, unblinking. Except for the moon, which seemed to shine brighter than ever, casting a soft glow onto the land below.

"I wish I could talk to you." Aang wiped the tear away from his eyes, sighing heavily.

Aang began to cry again, silently, wanting someone, anyone, to reassure him.

"Aang."

The voice startled the young airbender, and Aang rapidly turned around, trying to find the source of the voice. After a moment, as the moon's glow brightened, he looked up. What he saw...stunned him. Tears began to fall once more, and Aang slowly rose to his feet. The figure before him, whilst it was not Giatzo, was another whom he missed dearly. Someone whom he was still mourning.

The familiar, warm smile, brought a smile to Aang's own face.

"Iroh..."