Within just a few days, the weather had warmed considerably. With such small windows, there was little to no air flow in the bedrooms and the heat quickly became stifling. But the open courtyard had a nearly continuous breeze and the group decided it was most comfortable to camp together at night. Everyone is comfortably tucked into their sleeping bags and blankets ready for a good night's rest. Zuko is still sitting up, staring deep into the fire and replaying the strained conversation he'd had with his friend. 'He's going to try to save his Father.' He determines.

He looks over the fire to his friend's sleeping form trying to figure out his strange behavior. 'So what's your plan? When are you going to try to slip off?' He wracks his mind, trying to think like the unpredictable water tribesman. Deciding that his friend would attempt to take Appa, his best bet would be to stay in the saddle tonight, just in case. He crosses his arms and patiently waits another half hour. Once he hears heavy breathing from the group, he silently sneaks over to the massive animal and settles himself in the saddle, ready to catch his friend in the act. *****

She shakes her head as she walks away from the courtyard, still holding the note left under Momo's arm. Had Sokka really been that jealous of Aang's friendship with Zuko that he had to take him on a long fishing trip?! She hears Aang counting his hotsquats as she walks with Toph at her side. "Well, now you'll have lots of alone time with Aang." The younger girl teases.

"I can't believe Sokka. Is he really that jealous?" She wonders, deciding not to take the girl's bait. It was too early to argue with her.

"You're one to talk!" Toph laughs receiving a scowl from the waterbender. "But honestly, yeah, he is. They're getting real close Katara and it really bothered Sokka when he thought Sparky didn't like him anymore." She stops at the fountain and lays herself down on it's edge, resting one ankle on her other knee and bringing her arms behind her head.

She grimaces at the comment. She'd noticed that her brother was spending more and more time with Zuko. It still didn't sit right with her that he could be so…fond of the guy! Like he hadn't shot fire at them and tried to kidnap their best friend for months on end! Like he wasn't the crowned prince of the Fire Nation…the nation responsible for taking their mother from them!

Feeling her friend's unease, Toph decides to give her some tough love. "Katara, he's Sokka's best friend now…you're gonna have to deal with it. They're actually pretty fun together. And honestly, Sparky is real cool, when you actually talk to him!"

"I talked to him last night." Katara snaps, snatching up the empty bag that was filled with fruit just days ago.

"You asked him to let Aang break early. You didn't ask him about himself." She shoots back.

"Why would I want to ask him about himself?" Her hands come to her hips, voice dripping with irritation.

"Because, that's how you get to know someone!" Toph matches her sass. "That's what Sokka did and now he wants to hang out with Zuko all the time! He's your brother and like it or not you're a lot alike…maybe if you got to know Sparky, you'd like him a lot too."

"Ha! Yeah, right!" She laughs at the thought. "I'm going to the garden to see if there's any more fruit." She turns on her heel to leave.

"Whatever." Toph responds lazily as she begins her morning toe picking. *****

His eyelids feel heavy from lack of sleep but he continues to stare out of the airships window into the night. His mind is racing despite his exhaustion. They'd just escaped the highest security Fire Nation prison…and his sister! They'd rescued Sokka's Father, girlfriend, and accidentally an inmate…and Mai…Mai…she sacrificed herself for their freedom. He tried so hard to keep her out of this…to protect her…but now she was Azula's prisoner! He grips the steering wheel tighter, turning his knuckles white. He closes his eyes to keep tears from escaping. What will Azula do to her…what has he done?

He can still see the pained expression on her beautiful face as she yelled at him. Can still see those eyes glancing at him before she pinned down another guard with her knives. His face screws up in a desperate attempt to keep from sobbing. His breathing is irregular, coming in short gasps as his chest tightens painfully. His lungs suddenly feel horribly constricted like there's immense pressure forcing them to collapse. He can't breathe…he can't breathe…his chest is so tight…his vision is blurring. He feels himself falling…he's on his knees, hands are on the cold floor in front of him…he gasps at a rapid pace, desperate for air.

He hears a deep voice and feels someone holding onto his shoulders, pressing a broad chest against his back. The arms are strong, he can feel them squeezing him gently, holding him secure. He gasps again, breath shuttered and wracking. He's shaking violently as his vision is going white. Spirits he feels weak! But these arms around him are steady and strong. And the voice is calming, he can't make out the words but it's soothing to hear. He feels himself slowly being rocked. Tears are streaming down his face and he desperately hopes they don't fall on the arms around him.

"It's ok Son. Hey! Hey, it's ok…it's alright! Slowly now, breathe in through the nose, hold it, out through the mouth. Come on Son, breathe with me, it's ok…I've got you…you're ok now…you're safe…" He can hear the words now and he slowly starts to register what the voice is asking him to do. "Come on, breathe with me Son. In through the nose, hold, out through the mouth…" He tries, still gasping, but inhales with the man, then sharply exhales. He tries again and again, still only able to gasp…his chest was just so painfully tight.

"That's it now…keep breathing with me Son…you're ok, I've got you…" Again, he tries breathing when he's told, trembling uncontrollably. Again, and again they try until slowly his gasps become short breaths. He's still shaking but is slowly regaining control. "I…I'm…I'm sorry…" He chokes, terrified and embarrassed at his display of weakness.

"It's ok Son, don't be sorry. You're ok now." His deep voice soothes the young prince and he holds him tighter. 'This must be Sokka's Father…he said he was 'the most comforting person ever'.' He thinks to himself as he feels a wave of gratitude mixed with jealousy.

"You're ok…I've got you…" He repeats calmly.

"Mai…" He shakes violently, chest tightening again and he gasps at the pain.

"Oh…Son, it's ok…she's a tough one…she's going to be alright…I promise you! She's ok Son." Hakoda gently rocks the prince in his arms, wondering if the boy had ever been held like this before, spirits the boy was tense!

With restricted breaths, Zuko can only nod in response. 'She is tough. She can handle herself. She's a survivor. That's why I love her so much! Because she's so strong.' He thinks to himself. Hakoda moves to face the boy. Suddenly, Zuko feels terribly vulnerable with the loss of those arms around him. He feels himself shaking again and curses himself for wanting the man's embrace. Kneeling in front of the boy, Hakoda draws the prince to his chest, cradling his head against his shoulder. Strong arms locking him in place, keeping him steady as the trembling slowly subsides. He gently rocks back and forth as the teen melts into his embrace. 'Has this boy ever been hugged?!' His mind screams as his paternal instincts take over.

"I…I'm sorry…" He whispers again his voice shaking as his tears fall on the man's shoulder. He slowly runs his free hand up and down the boys back in a soothing motion and rests his cheek on his head. "It's ok Son…I'm here…I've got you." *****

"I missed you so much!" Sokka repeats to the girl in his arms, nuzzling her neck and making her giggle.

"I missed you too Sokka." She smiles up at him, brown eyes full of emotion. "It's been so long."

"I know! So much has happened since the Serpents Pass!" He leads her to sit down on the bed with him, resting their backs against the wall and pulling her into his side. He wraps his arm around her shoulders and she rests her head against his cheek.

"I see that! Since when have you been friend's with the Royal Family?" She teases, not trying hard to conceal her genuine intrigue. She hadn't expected the Fire Prince to show up with her boyfriend to bust her out of jail, especially seeing as it was his sibling that landed her there in the first place!

"Oh, about two weeks now." He shrugs nonchalantly.

"…and…you're sure he's on our side?" She raises an eyebrow, very much doubting her boyfriend's judgement. After all, the guy burned down her village not even a year ago.

"Hm? Oh yeah, for sure! He busted me out of a Fire Nation jail last week! And there were wanted posters of him all over the village. He's actually a real nice guy." He trails off smiling.

"Really?" She's not sure what she's more surprised about, the wanted posters, Sokka being in jail, or Zuko being called nice.

"Yeah! He's pretty great, you'll like him a lot! Just you know, be nice…he's a bit awkward at first. You gotta treat him like a baby turtleduck…approach carefully so you don't spook him! Once he's comfortable with you, he's pretty awesome! And the quickest way to get him to talk is to ask him about his Uncle…he can go on and on about the guy!" His quirky directions are filled with affection and it makes her smile to see him talk about his friend like that.

"Sounds intriguing." She offers.

"Not as intriguing as me! But yeah, he's an interesting guy." Sokka brags, pulling her closer.

"So, how're the others? Did Appa find you guys?" She had been imprisoned for so long, she was so looking forward to reuniting with their friends.

"Oh, yeah, Appa found us in Ba Sing Se…the special agents there had captured him but Zuko found him and set him free. We still don't know where he was before that."

"The Kyoshi warriors and I found Appa in the forest. He was hurt and starving, so we cleaned him up and nursed him back to health. Then Azula and her friends showed up. Thankfully, he was able to escape…obviously we weren't so lucky. Wait, so Zuko helped Appa?"

"Yeah, he did! Of course, we didn't know that until he joined us after the invasion." Sokka shrugs.

"Invasion? What Invasion?" She pulls back to better look at him, her eyes wide.

"Oh…my Dad said he'd met the Kyoshi warriors in jail…I thought he told you about…" He trails off as she slowly shakes her head.

"Oh he must've met them after you were sent to Boiling Rock, huh? Well, after Ba Sing Se fell, we tried to invade the Fire Nation with a ragtag army on the day of the eclipse. We almost won too but the jerklord hid from Aang and we had to retreat. We were forced to surrender but the group and a few of the kids escaped on Appa. We went to the Northern Air Temple to hide out. But that's why my Dad was in prison, he and I lead the invasion." Sokka's face falls, remembering his greatest defeat.

"That's awful Sokka…I'm so sorry. So…what's the plan now?" Her voice is soft and her eyes are full of concern.

"The new plan is actually the old plan. Aang needs to master the elements and defeat the Fire Lord before the comet." Sokka states plainly, still brooding over the failed invasion.

"Well, then I guess it's a lucky thing Zuko showed up!" She tries to cheer up her boyfriend, remembering how fondly he talks about his friend. He smiles at her. "Wait, when did he show up?"

"Actually, he followed us to the Temple. Surprised us at first when he just showed up and offered to teach Aang. It took a while for the group to warm up to him…funny considering he's a firebender!" He waits for the desired reaction to his pun. She smiles and rolls her eyes at the goofy teen.

"So, everyone's ok now?"

"Well…not exactly. Katara is still dead set against him…When we were in Ba Sing Se…well let's just say she thought he'd changed and he kinda betrayed her trust. So she's still upset about him joining but everyone else is getting along great!" He explains tenderly, figuring she should know what she's walking into.

"Oh…well, I'm sure she'll come around. She's so nice!" She smiles.

"Hey, you two. Sorry to interrupt. Sokka, can you come upstairs to give us directions. I'm not sure where we're headed." Hakoda admits from the door frame.

"Oh…I though Zuko was steering?" Sokka asks, concern in his voice.

"He was, but I made him get some rest. He looked real tired." Hakoda intentionally leaves out the massive panic attack the prince had endured.

"Yeah…he's not been sleeping great." Sokka confirms, nodding thoughtfully brows furrowed. "Yeah, I can come up an help!"

Hakoda huddles with his children in front of the fire. Sokka is excitedly telling the slightly exaggerated story of how they'd managed the escape from Boiling Rock to the group of children. He was a natural born storyteller and quickly has them all enraptured with the details of their daring adventure. From the way his son made it sound, the Fire Prince was a very brave young man and the two of them made quite a formidable team. He gazes down at his daughter and pulls her into yet another hug while his son gestures wildly to aide his story.

Looking over the fire, he catches the young prince staring at them with a somewhat pained expression. After a moment, the teen lowers his eyes to the fire. They hadn't talked about the panic attack since it happened, they hadn't really talked at all. The boy had been extremely quiet during their short trip to the temple. He would smile weakly and respond when spoken to, but when left alone Hakoda could see him withdraw into himself. His heart ached for the young man. Even surrounded by all these children, he looked so alone.

He watches as the small earthbender approaches the prince and settles herself on his side, nearly shoulder to shoulder. She whispers something to him that makes him smile weakly as he glances down at her devilish grin. The prince leans down to whisper something to the girl who starts giggling uncontrollably. She holds her stomach and then punches the grinning teen.

"Ahem! Did you wanna add something buddy?" Sokka asks indignantly, not appreciating the interruption in his story. "Hm? Oh, no…" He answers shortly, looking down and smirking. "You sure? I was just getting to the part where they put you in the cooler." Sokka suggests, teasingly.

"I actually wanted to ask you about that. How did you manage to move around enough to unbolt that thing? You must've been in there over an hour. After 30 minutes in there, I couldn't move!" Chit Sang asks the teen, genuinely interested.

"Oh…I…used the Breath of Fire." He responds as if it was just common sense.

"What now?" The older firebender looks at Zuko with a confused expression.

"The Breath of Fire…" He says slowly, his eyes look from one face to another, confused now as well. "You know…where you use the breath to warm your body?" He tries to remind the man.

"You can use your breath to change your body temperature? That's real neat! We do that with airbending!" Aang adds cheerfully, elbowing Zuko's arm. "That's why I was fine in my tunic at the poles!"

"…I've never heard of any 'Breath of Fire'! Where'd you learn that?" Chit Sang presses.

"My Uncle." He responds softly, deep in thought. "…he must have come up with it himself…by studying airbending. He's done that before…he learned out how to redirect lightning by observing waterbenders."

Katara jolts strangely next to Hakoda. "He did what now?" Her tone is almost threatening, like he'd taken something from her and she was demanding it back. Hakoda is troubled by his daughter's aggression toward the young man and by the way he nervously averts his eyes from her glare.

"He…studied waterbending…he believes that we should take wisdom from many places. If we take it from just one, it becomes rigid and stale. He said that it's the combination of wisdom from all the elements that makes the Avatar is so powerful…but that we can benefit from it too…" His voice is quiet but firm.

"Wow, that's really cool! And…wise!" Aang chirps and flashes a large, encouraging smile at the young prince next to him.

"Hold on a minute, You can redirect lightning!?" Chit Sang stares at the young man, amazed. "Who Is this kid?!" He laughs, shaking his head in wonder of the young mans claimed abilities. They all stop, and an awkward silence falls on the group. No one had told him yet that he was the prince of his nation!?

"I'm Zuko." The prince responds quietly, offering a fleeting smile to the convict. 'He really is an awkward kid.' Hakoda thinks to himself, smirking at the young man.

"You know…Prince Zuko…of the Fire Nation…heir to the throne…" Sokka adds causally, shrugging.

Chit Sang's mouth hangs open and his eyes bulge as he stares at the young man across from him. "…You're…you're the Fire Lord's son?" He stammers, fear in his voice. Hakoda's stomach drops, he had been concerned about how the firebender might react when he found out who Zuko really was. He tenses, readying himself to defend the young man if the massive man decided to attack.

Zuko meets the man's eyes, chin held high and nods once. That's all it took. Instantly the man was in tears. Taking a steadying breath, he comes to his knees and places his hands out in front of him, bowing low to his prince. Everyone looks around uncertainly, shocked at the display. Hakoda releases a sigh of relief and relaxes again. The young prince looks at the man prostrate in front of him with a mixture of concern and gratitude.

After a moment, Chit Sang rises to his knees but keeps his hands and eyes on the ground in front of him as he explains. "Prince Zuko. I am private Chit Sang, I served in the 41st division." The prince inhales sharply in response. If everyone was surprised by the man's behavior, they were baffled by Zuko's reaction. He was staring at the man with a horrified expression, golden eyes glistening with barely controlled tears.

Nervous glances are exchanged around the fire, no one knowing the significance of that specific division. Hakoda watches with rapt attention, careful to not make a sound. Zuko takes a shaking inhale, trying to steady himself.

"My Prince, when we were given our orders, it was clear to us what was happening…and we were terrified." His shaking voice strains heavily with the effort to control his emotions. Zuko's face contorts with pain, jaw clenching in a desperate attempt to resist crying.

"While we travelled to our assigned position, we heard rumors from Caldera. Rumors of the crowned prince and what he did for our division…what he sacrificed for us." Streams of tears were falling on the stone floor in front of the man. His back shakes as he tries to breathe deeply. Zuko is frozen, he can feel his chin trembling, can feel everyone staring but he can't take his eyes off the soldier. It didn't matter though, nothing else mattered right now…all that was important was hearing what happened to the soldiers of the 41st division.

Finally regaining control, Chit Sang continues. "We knew our orders would not be revoked. But knowing that our Prince fought for us, cared for us…gave us hope. Hope that soon, we would have a leader that saw his soldiers as more than chickenpigs for slaughter. Soon we would serve a Fire Lord that cared for his people…that deserved the crown." His voice breaks as the tears constrict his throat. "That hope gave us strength to fight bravely…and we fought for you. Some of us even survived."

All remaining color drained from the prince. He looks as if he'd been stabbed in the abdomen, his face twisting with pain. Closing his eyes, he tries to inhale and askes in barely a whisper. "How many? How many survived?" The pain in the young man's voice was startling, even to Katara.

"Nineteen. Nineteen of us out of the hundred and forty deployed." His voice is thick with emotion and his shoulders shake violently. Tears freely stream down the prince's pale face. His people had been slaughtered, sacrificed. He had tried to save them, but he failed. He failed them. He lost his home, his family, even half of his face trying to save those soldiers and they died anyway. He failed and they paid the price with their lives.

Hakoda watches as guilt and shame overtake the prince's face. No one his age should feel the excruciating guilt of losing your men in battle. And he clearly was blaming himself for those lost lives. He wanted to hold the young man, to shake him and tell him that it wasn't his fault.

"I'm sorry." He whispers, his tone defeated and broken. His eyes lower to the ground, too ashamed to even look at the soldier in front of him. Chit Sang's head finally rose and he stares at the young prince with a horrified expression, realizing what Hakoda had just moments ago.

"My Prince…you did all you could. In a room full of leaders, you were the only one to fight for us. You have more honor than all of Caldera and its leaders. Your sacrifice gave me the will to survive the battle. You deserve to be on the throne, not that excuse of a Fire Lord! I was imprisoned for speaking out against your Father after the battle…"

Zuko meets the soldier's gaze and for a few moments, they're frozen, sharing each other's pain. Finally, Zuko nods weakly and looks down. He takes a deep breath to compose himself and stands. "Thank you." His voice is quiet and strained. Meeting his gaze once more, he gives the soldier the Fire Nation gesture of respect and bows deeply. Chit Sang follows suit. Rising, the prince whispers "excuse me", and in a moment he's gone.

Chit Sang slowly returns to his spot around the fire and stares deeply into the flames. Again, the children exchange concerned looks, no one fully understanding what had happened. Zuko had sacrificed something to try to help the division somehow…but what? After a few tense minutes, the Duke can't control his curiosity. "What did Zuko sacrifice?" he asks innocently.

"Prince Zuko…will tell you if he wishes for you to know." The man says sternly, eyes still locked on the flames in front of him. They fall into heavy silence for a few more minutes.

"It's getting late kids. We should try to settle in for the night." Hakoda gently orders. Relieved that he'd broken the uneasy silence for them, the children nod in agreement and start preparing their 'beds'.

"Sokka…isn't this your bed?" He questions his son who is busy making up a second bed near the one he'd just set up. "Yeah…this one's for Zuko." He says matter-of-factly and his Father smiles at the boy's thoughtfulness.

He draws his children into a tight hug, kissing their heads as he pins them closer to him. Releasing them again, he settles into his own bed between them. His thoughts immediately wandering back to the prince and he considers what exactly the boy could have sacrificed.

He watches as his son kisses Suki goodnight and positions himself to face the direction the prince had gone. *****

It had been a few hours now. The children were asleep around the fire but Hakoda just couldn't relax. Maybe it was a paternal thing, but he just couldn't sleep when he knew there was a child upset. His mind made up, he rises and heads in the direction the young man had disappeared in. After a few turns, he spots the boy's form sitting on the edge of a pool, arms hugging his knees into his chest. He approaches slowly, being careful to make soft sounds so as not to startle him.

"May I join you?" He asks gently. The prince slowly meets his gaze, golden eyes practically glowing in the dark. He nods and turns again to look into the pond. Hakoda settles himself on the ledge and follows the young man's gaze to a group of sleeping turtleducks huddled together. He smiles at the tender act; it was so unlike the fierce warrior that helped him escape from the Boiling Rock. "I realize I never thanked you…for helping my son break me out of prison." He chuckles softly and adds. "I never thought I'd say that one!"

'Yeah, that's where Sokka gets his humor.' Zuko muses to himself. He smiles faintly at the older warrior and nods, looking down shyly. After the incident on the airship he'd felt very strange around the man. He feels the older warrior's eyes on him and he looks up to meet him. He stops for a moment; the man's eyes are so kind and the way he's looking at him is so similar to the way Uncle used to. Suddenly, he desperately wishes the man would scoop him up and hold him tightly. He turns back to the pond, pushing away such nonsensical thoughts.

Hakoda studies the young man's face for a moment. He looks so very troubled; his eyes are almost haunted and that scar…he considers the mark for a few moments. This boy has been through too much already. Deciding that he should proceed cautiously and choose his words wisely so as not to scare him off, he gently tries. "Sokka seems very fond of you." He's pleased to see a soft smile grace the boy's features. His son was a safe subject for the boy and he felt a surge of pride.

"He's really fond of you too." His voice is barely a whisper, quiet and reserved. "He told me all about you the other night."

"You were talking about me the other night?" He can't help his curiosity.

"Yes. He came to my room and we were talking about you and Uncle. He told me how much he admires you…and about the water spirit prank. He talked about you until he passed out…" He trails off, feeling his face grow hot. Would Sokka's Father be angry about that? It was an accident; he didn't mean to fall asleep next to his son. He probably shouldn't have let him join him on the bed…but there wasn't anywhere else for him to sit.

Hakoda notices the sudden panic on the young man's face. "What's wrong?" He asks gently, concerned about the boy's strange behavior. Timidly, he meets the older man's eyes. For a moment, he looks more like a scared child than a strong prince. "…I didn't mean to…we were just talking and I was tired…I didn't mean to fall asleep next…next to him…" He trails off, looking down at his knees with a fearful expression.

His heart aches for the boy. 'Does he really think I'd be angry at that?!' He asks himself while staring at the awkward young prince. "It's ok Son…there's nothing to be ashamed of or sorry for. I've fallen asleep On Bato before!" He laughs at the memory of his best friend.

Zuko smiles nervously and cautiously meets his gaze once more. He smiles warmly at the young man, wanting nothing more than to pull him into a bear hug. "Speaking of sleep. We should head back and get some rest. Sokka's made you a bed near his." He grins at the boy who looks surprised by his buddy's kind gesture.

They make their way back to the group and settle into their beds. "Goodnight Prince Zuko." He offers one last warm smile to the prince. "Goodnight Chief Hakoda." He quietly responds with a weak smile.

As he lays his bed back, he decides, first thing tomorrow he's going to do away with the formalities with the young man. *****