I went to sleep that night ready for the big move the next day, but I woke up late when I heard a crash and Iroh yelling Zuko's name. In a heartbeat I was up and stumbling out of bed, tripping over something in the process before ripping my door open to see Zuko collapsed on the floor. "Zuko! What happened? Is he alright?"

"Help me get him into the room."

"Use mine, he'll be more comfortable with more space." Seeing that Zuko was feverish I touched his brow but quickly whipped it back from how hot it was. This was all so sudden, he was fine this afternoon, something must be going on. I held back on my questions in order to help Iroh get Zuko into my room, quickly getting some light so that we could treat him. I brought all the medicine we had and made plenty of ice to cool him down as he tossed and turned, unable to settle. Once we'd done all we could, I finally asked what had happened for Zuko to get like this.

"He went to find the Avatar's bison, and I followed him." Iroh said gravely, kneeling beside Zuko like a father would over his beloved son. "I begged him not to pursue this self-destructive path and to seek his own destiny, to ask himself what it was that he wanted in life, but the inner turmoil has caused him to become sick with this fever after letting the bison go."

"He released Appa? Just like that?" I was surprised, looking at Zuko as he groaned in pain, face contorting and my heart stung each time he made a sound of discomfort and agony, like he was being tormented inside his own mind so I took a deep breath then tried to use some healing water on him. I rested one hand over his head and the other at his stomach, moving the water up and down to follow his chi paths and did what I could to relieve his suffering. It seemed to help a little, letting him fall into a deeper sleep so I pulled back in order to let him rest, freezing some more ice cubes and wrapped them in a cloth to place on his brow. "Is…is he going to be okay?"

"If he can resolve the conflict within himself, he will recover." That didn't sound too promising, and when Iroh looked up at me to see that I was crying with worry, he comforted me, promising that Zuko was going to be alright and that we would be here to take care of him. "You must be strong now. My nephew will know that you are near and he relies on you a great deal, far more than either you or he knows."

"What are you talking about? Zuko doesn't need me. I'm just a pain in his ass." Wiping my tears away meekly I sniffed, reaching out to brush back his hair gently.

"A long time ago, when we first became acquainted with one another, I said that I believed you had been brought to us by fate, and that your path was meant to cross with Zuko's." Iroh began to tell me, still kneeling at Zuko's side but focusing on me. "I believed that you would be a good influence on my nephew, and I was right. He has learned from you a great deal. He has learned compassion and care, how to let go of trivial inconveniences and how to better manage his temper. You are someone whom he cares for more than he allows to show, and you being here for him now will only show him more how much he needs you in his life."

"But I'm a nobody, just some commoner you picked up from the sea…"

"A person's origins does not define who they are. It is a person's character who truly makes them, and how they treat others." Softening as he reached out to me, Iroh took my hand in his and held it with a fatherly tenderness that made me want to cry again. "You are far more than you allow yourself to acknowledge, and I believe that you will do great things in your lifetime. Your mother and father will be so very proud when they learn all that you have done already, and what you will do." Sniffling pathetically, I couldn't help but smile at his words.

"You really think that?"

"But of course, I never lie. Come, you should get some sleep. I shall watch over Zuko tonight, then we shall plan our next step in the morning." Accepting his suggestion, I made Iroh promise me that he would wake me up if Zuko's condition changed at all before making to leave.

"No…don't…don't go…" When Zuko had murmured in his sleep and reached out for me, I'd frozen, blinking as his hand stretched out towards me. He was still shivering as if he was freezing despite the fact his temperature was hotter than a boiling teapot. Zuko seemed agitated, unable to settle so I came back and sat next to him for a moment and when he sensed me close to him, he exhaled as if with relief and turned over, his hand seeking me out. I reached for it and allowed our fingers to entwine, watching him for a few moments before I decided to just go to sleep here. This was my room, after all.

Iroh fetched me a blanket as I settled down, making myself as comfortable as possible before looking at Zuko. He looked terrible and I wanted nothing more than to just take away all of his hurts and pains, but I couldn't. Instead he continued to move closer to me, as if drawn in like an inescapable pull until he had wrapped himself around me and buried his face into my chest, making me blush slightly. "Who knew you'd be so clingy when you're sick? I am so going to pull you up on this when you're better, but for now I guess I'll allow it." I muttered tiredly, eyes blinking as Iroh watched over us, meditating throughout the night.

Together we took turns in watching over Zuko, staying in the apartment a little longer than anticipated in order to treat him but thankfully, our new manager understood that Zuko could not be moved at the moment and gave us more time. We appreciated his understanding and he even sent us medicine which was of much better quality than what we had. I guess he wants to make sure that he invests in us to ensure our loyalty so that we make him a lot of money, but I didn't care about the reason behind it for now. As long as it helped Zuko, it didn't matter. He wasn't getting any better, in fact he just seemed worse.

"You're burning up. You have an intense fever." Iroh explained to Zuko when he finally came around enough to be awake, though he was still delirious. "This will help cool you down." Placing a fresh cold cloth over his brow.

"So thirsty." Quickly I brought over a bucket of water with a ladle as Iroh made Zuko stay down, picking up the ladle in order to help Zuko drink.

"Here's some clean water to drink. Stay under the blankets, and sweat this out." Zuko drained all the water that was in the ladle before throwing it aside and turned over, grabbing the bucket to pour it all over his head and down his throat, as if all the water in the world wouldn't be enough to quench his thirst. Iroh looked distraught, so I quickly moved forwards and pulled the water off the floor and Zuko's blankets, drying everything instantly before draining that water away and pulling some fresh from the pump.

"This will help, just stay still for a while." Lifting Zuko's head I settled it on my lap, making ourselves both comfortable before I raised my hands. With the new bucket, I drew water up and out, circling it over Zuko before holding two orbs at his temples and willing him to heal, causing the water to glow brightly and thrum with sound. Zuko breathed, releasing the deep breath he'd been holding and started to relax, allowing Iroh to tuck the blankets more securely over him as I kept his head cool. "You're going to be alright, Zuko, just hold on. Hold on a little longer." His eyes blinked up at me, woozy and unfocused but his hand rose to touch my face, hot and sweaty from his fever.

"Kayo…"

"I'm here, don't worry I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." As the water healing did the trick, he fell asleep and his hand dropped, allowing Iroh to tuck it back under the blankets as I sniffed, distressed to see Zuko in so much pain. I continued to help Zuko in whatever way I could in between eating and resting, though that night when I woke up from a nap, I listened as Iroh talked to Zuko, helping him to drink some tea.

"You should know this is not a natural sickness, but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying tea."

"What? What's happening?" Zuko still sounded disorientated and confused, unable to understand what was happening due to the fever wracking his body.

"Your critical decision, what you did beneath that lake...it was in such conflict with your image of yourself that you are now at war within your own mind and body." Iroh explained as I sat in the dark of the other room, listening sadly as Iroh continued to help Zuko drink.

"What's that mean?" Coughing uncontrollably, I felt my chest tighten as my hand naturally rose to grip tightly over my heart. I hated seeing him like this, I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out before I just burst out sobbing and just uselessly cry over him like he'd already become a corpse.

"You're going through a metamorphosis, my nephew. It will not be a pleasant experience, but when you come out of it, you will be the beautiful prince you were always meant to be." I really hope he's right and that Zuko pulls through this, all we can do is wait, right? Damn it, I hate waiting, I feel so useless. There's got to be something more I can do. Shaking my head, I forced myself to pull together before I got up and left the bedroom, taking over for Iroh who severely needed his rest. Taking his place, I smiled softly down at Zuko who turned his head, breathing heavily and coughing before he slumped.

"Kayo?"

"In the flesh." I teased gently, reaching out to stroke Zuko's hair. "Feeling any better?" Another coughing fit was my answer so I gingerly helped Zuko to sit up before using healing water on his back, focusing on his lungs and airways to circulate his chi more effectively. I still wasn't entirely sure what I was doing with this healing stuff, but it seemed to work so I just followed my instincts and the pull of the water.

"Thank you." Zuko murmured weakly as I then held the back of his head, helping him to lay back down once I was finished.

"You don't need to thank me Zuko, I'm just doing what I can." Stroking his hair again, Zuko watched me through heavy lidded eyes for a while, blinking slothfully. "Do you want anything?" For a while Zuko remained silent, so I wondered if he hadn't understood me because of the fever, but then his hand came to rest against my face, looking at me deeply even with his unfocused gaze. His warm hand smoothed against my cheek, thumb rubbing into my skin firmly but gently as Zuko whispered.

"Don't leave…don't ever leave me…"

"I won't Zuko. You think you'd survive one day out here without me? If I left you, you'd be easy pickings for somebody to take advantage of. Face it, you need me to survive." I teased lightly, speaking in a quiet murmur as I leaned a little closer to him, drawn in by his tender touch and the feeling of warmth. Resting my forehead against his, our eyes focused in on one another before I closed them, drawing in a deep breath before releasing it as I used the coolness from my skin to combat the heat from his. "I care about you, Zuko, so I'm staying. Just promise me you'll get better soon. I hate seeing you like this."

"Kayo, I…" Whatever Zuko had wanted to say, I never heard it because his body gave out on him and he fell back into a feverish sleep where I watched over him the entire night, praying sincerely that he would be better in the morning.