READ! GUYS! So I've realized that writing "the inn" has been so fun that I'm going to make it a separate fanfic and will therefore make it longer. This chapter ends kind of abruptly... so I'm going to make a separate fanfic called "the inn" that will start from the very beginning of the trip to the very end. I've deduced that these two little chapters (ch. 20 and 21) has been a little preview for you guys. Thanks! And sorry for extreme lack in updates! REVIEW!

The Inn Part 2

Zuko dreamt of a blizzard. He was shaking, nearly frostbitten, and he had to shut his eyes against the blisteringly cold winds. He couldn't feel his face or limbs. With a start, the firebender was reminded of his time in the Northern Water Tribe, when he had tried to escape with Aang.

He grunted and opened his eyes. With relief, Zuko remembered he was in an inn. He sighed frustratingly and rubbed his eyelids and temples; the sun had not come up yet. Sitting up fully, Zuko realized he was still cold. Perhaps it was remnants of his dream? No, this cold was tangible… real…

Katara.

She was still nestled beside him, but she was as livid and freezing as ice. Although she was asleep, her teeth chattered violently.

Zuko felt panic. Was this common in waterbenders? Were they sickly and chilly during a new moon? He gave himself a mental slap—of course not. There was something wrong with her.

Thinking fast, the firebender scooped her up and threw open their door, trying to find his way through the dark hall. He couldn't produce a light due to the fact that both of his hands were occupied with carrying her. Stumbling around, Zuko was able to locate the stairs and very carefully conquered them, step by step.

Katara woke slowly as he hustled around, frantically looking for the innkeeper. "Zuko?" she asked in a raspy voice. "I'm really cold."

"I know," he said quickly, locating a hallway downstairs and taking a stab in the dark. "Just try to keep warm." He was doing all he could to force out his inner fire.

"I—" she inhaled sharply and began to cough. In between each violent cough, she tried to get a breath of air. Zuko banged on walls, growing fearful.

Finally, a door flew open and out hurried the innkeeper's wife, fully alert even in her dressing gown. "Is something the matter?" She held up her lantern to the waterbender's face and frowned deeply. "Oh my. Bring her to the loft and lay her on the sofa."

He struggled through the dark towards the loft area, relieved when she finally stopped sputtering. Her fingers snaked through his shirt and he glanced down. Her eyes were closed. When he found the loft, he laid her down and tried to think of a way to help her until the innkeeper came.

"Step aside, kiddo, we got a real case on our hands," the innkeeper hurried into the dark room with matches. His wife trailed behind him and kneeled beside Katara as her husband lit candles in the room.

"Are you awake, dear?" asked the older woman gently. Katara forced herself to nod and failed to smile. "Good." The innkeeper's wife busied herself with checking the waterbender's pulse, temperature, and several other things that Zuko was vaguely aware of. Being the impatient firebender he was, he paced the room.

The innkeeper laid a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "You can calm a bit, son. We'll have your wife nice and healthy in no time."

The firebender stared at the man until he remembered that he and Katara were pretending to be a married couple. He nodded slowly and turned away.

After a few more moments of silence, the innkeeper spoke up again. "How long, kiddo?"

"How long what?"

"Your marriage. You kids look pretty young… newlyweds?"

Zuko mentally groaned. Was now really the time for a pop quiz? His "wife" was pretty much on her death bed-couch. "Um, yeah, we're newlyweds," he agreed, deciding to remain vague.

"That's precious," commented the innkeeper's wife in response to Zuko as she prodded Katara's head with a wet towel.

The innkeeper was obviously trying to lighten the mood with these questions, but Zuko felt anything but calm. "So when did you youngsters meet?" he asked.

The firebender folded his arms and racked his brain. The truth seemed practical enough. "We met a long time ago… two years ago, I think. In the Southern Water Tribe."

"I suspect you had an eye for her from the start, huh?" The innkeeper chuckled. "I bet you charmed her right up."

Zuko remembered first coming to the Southern Water Tribe. If he remembered correctly, he had seized her grandmother and beat up her brother. "Yeah."

"How old were you kids when you first got married?"

"I'm twenty now," lied Zuko. He was truly seventeen and Katara had just turned fifteen. "And she's eighteen. We married… half a year ago."

Suddenly, Katara stirred. It was faint, but it was enough to make the firebender hurry and ease up beside the sofa, kneeling as he peered through the dim lighting and into her pale face. "Is she going to be okay?"

Gravely, the innkeeper's wife wiped her hands on her apron. "The girl has pneumonia."

"Pneumonia?" The firebender, being royalty, wasn't used to illnesses and disease. The royal family was fed and trained to maintain perfectly healthy bodies; they would only experience slight colds and even fevers, yet those could be easily healed with a warm cup of the right tea. But pneumonia was something he wasn't familiar with.

"She'll be fine, dear, but the next two or three weeks will be horrid. She'll cough a lot, so keep her near a basin. If she coughs blood, you run down and get me as soon as you can." The old woman paused. "Do you know how she might have gotten this? Have you been exposed to any sickly people, particularly in a confined space?"

Zuko tried to remember the past week he'd traveled with her. Everything had been fine—well, there had been that one time on the train into Ba Sing Se—he widened his eyes. "There was an ill man on the train," he said. "He must've been the culprit."

The old woman nodded and blotted Katara's forehead with the towel. "She'll be fine," she repeated. "Just allow her plenty of rest and water. This sickness will clear right up."

Zuko bowed slightly. "Thank you."

"Hey, kid, don't mention it." The innkeeper gave Katara a fleetingly pitiful gaze before bidding them a goodnight and going back to the room, accompanied by his wife.

The young pair was left in the dim lighting of the foyer. Zuko sat cross legged on the floor and focused on the candles scattered about the room, raising them and dimming them at his will. As he inhaled and the flames towered higher, Katara's faint voice reached his ears.

"I ruined the vacation."

He stifled a smile and turned to face her. She was so pale and shaky under the thin cotton blanket that his grin faded immediately; where was the strong, bronzed waterbender with the fierce gaze and tight jaw? "I don't think you need to worry about that," he replied, keeping his voice low. "Our 'vacation' was ruined when I lost the passports."

Katara studied him for a moment before closing her eyes. "You got that right."

His smile returned.

They sat in silence for a while. Zuko wasn't sure if she was thinking or falling asleep; her breathing was soft, though uneven. He settled down again, loosened his shoulders, and focused on his inner fire.

"Thanks."

He cocked an eyebrow and looked at her. "For what?"

"I don't know," she said indifferently. Same stubborn, headstrong waterbender, if not a tad bit weaker. "Thanks for taking care of me, I guess. You're a good friend."

Zuko sized her up. He nodded once.

They plummeted into comfortable stillness before Katara spoke up again, her voice wavering as she tried to enunciate her words through her chattering teeth. "I mean it, Zuko. You're a good friend." She paused. He sensed a lecture coming on. "I can't believe just a few years ago we were mortal enemies. I hated your guts."

He winced. She noticed.

"No really, I did. Whenever I bended some water your way, I hoped with all my being that you wouldn't be able to block it. That you would just… fall." He winced again, this time unbeknownst to Katara. "And now we're friends."

"Fate has a funny way of changing," he mused, quoting his uncle.

A short, sharp laugh tore from her throat, followed by a bit of coughing. She began to continue her speech. "Wow, I really did hate you, didn't I?" She snickered in between coughs. "I thought you were the ugliest, meanest, tackiest jerk ever."

"Ugly?" He voiced. "…Tacky?"

"Yeah, that whole ponytail shaved head thing didn't work well for you," she said matter-of-factly. "And while we're at it, I thought you were a little too buff for a sixteen year old. It was gross looking; I'm glad you trimmed down."

Did she just call me fat?

"And you yelled a lot." She sniffed and prepared to mimic him. "Where's the Avatar? I need the Avatar! I need to restore my honor! What's a comb?"

He gave her a questioning look for that last sentence and she smiled weakly. "Sorry, that's just what I was thinking when you started growing out your hair."

"What was wrong with my hair?" Out of all the firelords, Zuko was definitely the most insecure about his appearance.

She opened her mouth to answer when a fit of coughing brought her into a sitting position. Zuko jerked, awkwardly trying to find a way to help her. Her gasps for breath worried him and he drifted forward, unsurely clutching the blanket.

When her coughs faded, Katara fell backward and put her arms over her head. "I think I need some sleep."

"I'll get you water," he offered, already standing.

"N-no!" In a burst, she grabbed his tunic. He turned and stared at her. She peered up slowly, as if embarrassed. "Stay here for a while. I don't have a good experience with inns."

He gestured to the general direction the innkeeper had gone. "This people are kind. They're the ones that are helping you." There was a tinge of accusation in his voice.

She chewed her lip. "Please, Zuko?"

"Fine."

He made to sit back down on the ground, but she blocked him and pulled him onto the couch. He stiffened. "What are you—"

"Oh, hush," she said. "You're warm and I need warmth. Simple as that." She pulled him next to her and leaned on his torso, absorbing his inner fire. "Sorry if I get you sick," she added.

He remained frozen for a while. It was odd, sitting there with her against him. He didn't understand how he could get such a sensation from someone who was presumably only a platonic friend.

She inhaled slowly and prepared to cough, but nothing happened. With relief, she sighed. "See that? I'm getting better already."

"You should stop talking," he said gently, pulling the blanket over her. "Your voice is getting weaker and you need to sleep."

Katara sniffed but obeyed. Within minutes, she was asleep on him.

keep an eye out for a continuation of this fic! "The Inn" coming out soon.