A/N: This is the third chapter I've posted since alerts have been out, so I'd like to remind you to read chapters 19 and 20 before reading this one if you haven't already.

Also, I posted this chapter yesterday and it didn't appear. You can almost hear the server sizzling, can't you? So I took it down to try again later. Sorry if there was any confusion.

Thanks for all the nice reviews so far for this story. I can't tell you how much I appreciate them. I try to respond to them when they come in but the reply function doesn't always seem to be working either, so here's a big thanks to everyone who's dropped me a line.

THANKS!

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Chapter 21

"Is there anybody you don't know?" Zuko asks Katara as they stand over the fallen Director.

"I've lived a full life." She quips and then turns another glare on the older man, for the first time noticing the arrows sticking out of his shoulders.

"I suppose you feel you have to heal him." Zuko seemingly reads her mind.

"Reluctantly, but yes, I have to." Katara sighs.

"Get away from me!" The Director tries to squirm away from her as she leans down to him with healing water glowing on her hand.

"Oh stop it." She tells him impatiently and glances over at Zuko. "Don't you know him?"

"No." Zuko shakes his head honestly. He takes a good look at the man and draws a blank.

"His name is Long Feng. He helped your sister plan the Dai Li coup in Ba Sing Se." Katara informs him as she places her hand on the older man's neck where Zuko's blade made its tiny cut.

The injured Director snarls at Zuko who fixes him with a murderous eye.

Katara breaks the feather tip off the arrow in his left shoulder and begins the disgusting process of pushing it all the way through. Yukio's shots were so close range the arrows are nearly through already, but Katara will have to finish the job.

Long Feng whimpers and gnashes his teeth as Katara does all the necessary work to heal him.

"I don't want to leave you here alone, but I don't like Yukio out there alone either." Zuko says to her.

"I'll be fine." She assures him.

"I sent up a signal for Bokkusu so they should be here soon." Zuko says looking around the room.

"Go ahead and check on Yukio. I don't like him being out there by himself either." Katara tells him. "I'll be fine." She repeats.

Just to be absolutely certain, Zuko goes to the unconscious earthbender and begins to drag him out the door. The senseless mumbler follows at the Fire Lord's gesture. The half buried bender gets to stay.

"You should block him. He'll attack you the first chance he gets." Zuko nods toward Long Feng, dragging the unconscious Dai Li agent past her.

"I did. For the pain. He's just being dramatic now." She chuckles as Zuko disappears beyond the doorway with his burden.

The Director growls at her, trying to threaten, but he's well and truly blocked so she doesn't follow her instinct to scramble away and knock him out with a whip.

Katara wonders how Zuko never met the former head of the Dai Li when they presumably were at the Earth Kingdom palace at the same time. No doubt Azula took the man out of commission the moment she had control. Just like she did with Mai and tried to do with Ty Lee, Katara shudders at the thought, knowing Zuko was also on that list of unneeded helpers.

"You're lucky you were shot by a soft-hearted marksman." Katara informs him as she holds her water-covered hand to his left shoulder watching the glow rise and the skin knit together.

"Soft-headed child is more like it." Long Feng grumbles. "And you're nothing but trash. A peasant paramour for the Fire Lord. Disgusting."

Katara is torn between shock and fury. How dare he speak to her that way? She almost walks away from him while an arrow still pokes out of his right shoulder. But she can't. She's a healer and she can't walk away from someone injured in a way that she can help.

Her mind flies to the night this very man attacked Jet and she remembers that she couldn't help her … friend. Whatever he was to her and whatever he had done in his past he didn't deserve what Long Feng did to him.

"What happened to Jet? Did you kill him?" She suddenly asks, realizing this may be her only chance to question him on that particular matter.

"When I returned to the fortress, he was still alive, though barely. I put him out of his misery." There's an amused tone to his voice and Katara for the second time has to make herself stay and heal the troll.

"What about his friends?" She asks, dreading the answer.

"You'll be pleased to know they escaped." Long Feng smirks.

"What happened to your legs?" She asks him, disregarding any sensitivity he may have on the subject.

"Your lover's sister ordered my own forces to attack me. I was saved by a handful of loyal Dai Li, but the damage was done."

"Well, I'm sorry you lost your legs over it, but you were playing a very dangerous game. It might have been worse." Katara says, trying to block out his leering suggestiveness, as she pulls out the second arrow and begins to seal the wound.

"And you're a filthy little tramp who warms the bed of the enemy of your people." He snaps.

Katara reaches out and slaps his face before she can stop herself. She stands, furious, near tears.

"How dare you?!" She fumes. "You're the most odious, despicable person I've ever met. And that includes Azula!"

She stomps out of the room, shaking with rage. Leaning against the rough wall of the cave she clutches her midsection, a red haze of fury filling her mind. She's reminded of the subjects of the Fire Nation who spat their ingratitude with bile and venom following the victory over Ozai.

And this foul creature has so quickly found the chink in her armor that allows him to strike at her very core. She cannot deny having had thoughts of Zuko that included intimacy beyond anything she's ever actually experienced, but her imaginings had sweetness and purity to them and now this disgusting pig-rat has tainted them, tainted them forever with his vile accusations. As innocent as she is, he's still managed to make her feel cheap and despoiled.

She takes a deep breath and another troubling thought springs to her mind. Is that what people think is going on? Do they think she's his mistress? Yukio's grandmother mistook her for wife, then betrothed. After being wrong on both counts did she make the mental leap toward something more dishonorable?

Once again her instinct is to turn and flee. She can deal with a physical attack by an earth or firebender more easily than she can deal with cruel words. Obviously Long Feng is counting on this and she slows her breathing, struggling to regain her self-control. She never should have left him alone.

Katara steels herself, biting back furious tears and she walks back into the Sanctuary.

She finds Long Feng pushing himself up from the floor and she stops, freezing in her tracks. If he's got movement, he's probably got bending.

With silent steps she makes her way over to the Director, reaches down and blocks his chi from his recently healed shoulder. He flops down on the ground with a thump and a groan.

"Don't you ever speak of my friendship with the Fire Lord in such a sordid manner again." She commands, her teeth clenched so hard they might break.

"You are no better than you appear Madam Waterbender. And you appear to be a two-copper-piece trollop who has moved up from my ruined agent Vallon, with whom you obviously have a history, to the silk bedclothes of the Fire Lord. Good for you."

"You horrible snake!" Katara chokes, clenching her fists.

A sudden blast of fire strikes inches from Long Feng's head and he jerks away from it, looking past Katara at the doorway where Zuko stalks toward him, eyes flashing with menace and rage.

"You're still begging to die, aren't you coward?" He asks the Director in a low, threatening voice, bending down to lift the older man by the front of his shirt.

"How sweet. The Fire Lord avenges the honor of his concubine." Long Feng prods mockingly.

Those are his last words to Katara and Zuko however as the Fire Lord's fist meets the nasty old manipulator's jaw and darkness descends on the Director.

Zuko lets him drop unceremoniously to the ground and stands to address Katara who is frozen in stricken silence, her hands clasped tightly together in front of her and her mind whirling with hate and anger.

"I heard arguing and I thought he might be giving you problems." Zuko explains his presence. "Are you okay?"

"Did you hear the things he said to me?" She asks in a fractured whisper.

"Just that last bit. I'm sorry he upset you."

"Do you think that's what other people believe?" She looks at Zuko now, her eyes pleading for reassurance.

Zuko smiles at her and takes her into his arms for a smothering hug.

"Nobody who's actually met you would ever believe that you would settle for a life as a concubine to a scarred-up, broken down Fire Lord."

Katara laughs and buries her face in his shoulder, while Zuko works hard to keep the embrace as chaste as possible. He remembers what she told him about taking advantage when he needed comfort and doesn't want the same thing to happen again. This whole situation has become knotted beyond his ability to understand it, and complicating matters by confirming even a small part of Long Feng's accusations is the complete wrong way to untangle things.

"Come back out with Yukio and me. I'll cuff this guy and we won't have to worry about him until the search party comes." Zuko says. "I'd rather we all be together in case the Dai Li have reinforcements."

Katara nods her head, stepping reluctantly away from his comforting embrace. Once parted from Zuko, she feels exposed and vulnerable. Even though Long Feng is out cold, his words linger in the atmosphere and she can't escape them. Not on her own.

Zuko pulls out the metal cuffs he took from the bender he just dragged from the room and secures the unconscious man. He looks over to Katara who smiles tremulously at him and he puts a comforting arm across her shoulders, leading her to the doorway.

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Thankfully, no earthbenders come to attack them. They sit around a small fire, Katara, Yukio, and Zuko with Vallon propped against a wall nearby, munching on apples and jerky from their packs. Yukio has been showing off his wall-running trick to Katara's great amusement. He had seen how shaken she was on leaving the Sanctuary and he's putting his all into making her laugh, running up the wall, acting like he's picking bugs and eating them and then pretending to choke on them and falling to the ground. It's extremely childish, but she's thriving on it and Yukio feels a little less like a burden to his rescuers.

Vallon watches the foolishness, wishing he could laugh at the boy's clownish antics, but knowing even a chuckle would result in exorbitant pain. He watches Katara's mirth remembering the lovely girl she was and marveling at the beautiful woman she is and he's sure of only one thing; Kioko never existed, or if she did she wasn't his. He'd never realized until Yukio that he himself was a victim of the Director's methods of control. He'd thought he was there of his own free will, for the sake of vengeance and the memory of his wife and unborn child. How many others had had such unbearable pain and grief implanted in their brains? All, he supposes with bitterness. And now he will be punished for his deeds, as he rightfully should be regardless of the reality of his motivations.

The big earthbender would love to go back to the Sanctuary and break the Director's neck. Even if he could stand the pain of such a maneuver, the Fire Lord's untrusting eyes are never far from Vallon. The big man can't even walk while his ribs are broken so badly, much less bend or fight, and so they've left him without cuffs, sharing their food with him and the other captured Dai Li who've regained consciousness. Vallon smirks seeing his comrades in the very same restraints they used on their own captives. Just desserts.

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It's getting late and Yukio has passed out in Zuko's bedroll, having worn himself completely out with his comedy routine. Katara brushes his hair from his face and tucks him in. If he were awake, he'd complain bitterly that he's too old for such pampering, so she gladly takes advantage of his slumber to indulge her maternal instincts.

She turns to see Zuko staring at the small fire, rubbing his temples wearily.

"How long has it been since you've had a decent night's sleep?" She asks him.

"I slept about an hour last night." He says. "I'm fine. My head hurts."

"Let me check." She says preparing some soothing water for healing without waiting for his permission.

A sigh escapes his lips as she massages his head with the water. He fights to stay awake and finally pulls away from her, knowing a second more of this treatment will have him collapsing on the ground, snoring.

"Come here." She says, pulling him to his feet and walking to the wall across from where Vallon sits. She sits down cross-legged on the ground next to her bedroll, leaning back and pulling him down beside her. "Rest." She says.

"When Bokussu gets here." He resists.

"Zuko," She says softly, pulling him gently down to use her lap as a pillow. "Lay down your head. Let somebody take care of you for a change."

"I can't." He tries to sit back up but she presses him down.

"I promise I'll wake you when Bokussu comes. Or if we're attacked. I'll stay on watch. Don't insult me by not allowing me to do my part."

He starts to relax but there's still tension as she pulls her blanket over him. She goes back to massaging his head with cool healing water and the tightness in his shoulders starts to fade.

"I won't ravish you while you sleep if that's what you're afraid of." She whispers, smiling, happy to be able to make a joke of the Director's sordid allegations.

"How disappointing." He murmurs as he drifts off into blessed oblivion and the deepest, sweetest sleep he's had in years.

She watches his face as the lines of tension slowly dissolve. It's easy to forget how young he actually is. Only two years older than she and a whole country on his shoulders, she shakes her head in sympathy. She swirls her water back into her pouch and continues to stroke his hair softly in affection and comfort instead of healing. He nestles down further in her soft lap and she grins at the youthfulness of him now that he's unaware and unguarded.

"You're in love with him aren't you?" Vallon says softly from his position across the cave.

"I think you earthbenders should mind your own business for once." Katara snaps as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake Zuko but irritated at this intrusion and another assumption not, she supposes, unlike that of Long Feng's.

"I'm sorry." The big man says regretfully. "I didn't mean to imply anything." He pauses thoughtfully. "You're just so beautiful when you look at him."

Katara blushes and finds she can't speak past the tightness in her throat. She's reminded of the good cry she had scheduled and wishes fervently it had happened so she wouldn't be such a raw nerve now.

"I have planted memories of being in love." Vallon goes on. "I know they're not real. But I wish they were. Even if it had gone the same way with the loss and the grief, I wish they were real."

"I'm sorry." Katara finally chokes out.

"I think he's in love with you too, if that matters." Vallon tells her.

"No. You're mistaken. We're just friends, no matter how I feel." She says softly, not denying her own feelings because she obviously had let down her guard enough that they were apparent to Vallon so there's no use pretending to him at least.

"Okay." He says, not believing her, but allowing the matter to drop.

"Get some sleep. Your body's healing. It needs rest." She advises.

"I wish…" Vallon begins.

"Don't. Wishes are for those without hope." Katara stops him as she continues stroking Zuko's hair.

Vallon closes his eyes wondering if he's one of those people for whom only wishes remain. Even in his current misery he can't regret what he did today. It's probably the first uncorrupted thing he's done in years, he realizes. He shifts and grits his teeth at the pain so as not to make a sound, not wanting to disturb Katara, knowing she'll try to help relieve him. He peeks at her from lowered lashes. She still holds the Fire Lord's head in her lap, gazing down at the man as he sleeps. Vallon can't see her eyes, but he can see the wet tracks on her face and the dots of darkened fabric where saline droplets fall from her chin to her chest.

He even envies the tears of love.