Author's Note: This is a Zutara fic. If you hate Zutara, please refrain from badgering me about the pairing.

Part 1: There Is No War On A Raft

Chapter 1: Day Four

Katara was slow to wake that morning, and even slower to wake to awareness. She danced between dreams and reality, scents and sounds shifting and mixing as she laid. Her dreams were strange, but each time she began to stir and think about how much she probably should get up and prepare breakfast for the others (Tui and La, I have to teach Sokka how to cook eventually. And how to sew. Aang, too. What would they ever do if something happens to me?), the next moment she would slip back into slumber. Even though Katara was wearing her parka, she still felt a chill in the air, enhanced by the breeze brushing against her (Appa must be going really slow…usually the wind feels much faster when Appa flies, she thought, before drifting off to sleep again).

At one point, Katara began to awake again, but she was broken from a dream and did not wish to get up just yet. She felt more than a little tired−she was exhausted, depleted of energy…she hoped she wasn't getting sick again. The experience with the frozen frogs had been really annoying…and really disgusting. But, to her knowledge, Sokka and Aang were both fine, so even if she was getting sick, it wouldn't be as much of a nuisance as the last time. Rest would be the most important thing.

And Katara drifted off again.

The next time Katara began to wake up, awareness came more than the previous times. Her head hurt, though it was only a dull pain. She could feel the movements beneath her, gentle bumps and sways that would leave the unacquainted feeling nauseous. She could smell the salt water. She could hear the water…why would Appa be in the water?

At once, the memories of the past several weeks came back to her−finding the Northern Water Tribe, fighting with Master Pakku, learning waterbending…the siege…the moon spirit…

Katara was fully awake and aware now, and she opened her eyes, sitting up. Looking forward, all she saw was the ocean, beautiful, blue, and, as far as she could see, never-ending. She turned her head to look to her left.

Her eyes widened and she leapt up to her feet, assuming the best waterbending stance she could on the swaying raft, muscles feeling tired still. "You!" she shouted at the Fire Nation Prince who had, until then, been sitting and facing away from her. Hearing her get up, the scarred prince had begun to stand up and turn to face her−but before he was fully standing, Katara had blasted him off the raft with a powerful stream of water. She allowed herself a small smirk−the firebender's surprised shout, combined with the splash of him falling into the ocean had to be one of the most satisfying sounds Katara had ever heard.

"Zuko!" Katara turned to see the old man that had often accompanied the Fire Nation prince. She prepared to fight him, but memories tugged her hands down.

"Whatever you do to that spirit, I will unleash upon you tenfold! LET IT GO, NOW!"

The old man, despite being Fire Nation (and a general, at that), had tried to protect the Moon Spirit from Zhao. He had even attacked several of the Fire Nation soldiers present. He had been the one to realize that Yue could save them all. Perhaps, Katara considered, the old man wasn't so bad.

Then again, he had been with Zuko as he chased them from one pole to the other. And he was, apparently, a general. He had probably helped mastermind the attack, along with many others. Just because he hadn't wanted Zhao to kill the Moon Spirit, didn't mean he was trustworthy. All it really meant was that he wasn't crazy enough to think that killing the moon was a good idea. Katara raised her hand as she saw the old man move, but he went right past her, apparently entirely unconcerned by the waterbender that had just thrown the prince off the raft. He only cared about getting to the edge, where the prince had grabbed onto. Katara watched him pull the hot-headed prince back onto the raft.

Whereas the old general didn't seem bothered by her, Prince Zuko was clearly furious. Katara saw him glare at her as he stood up, sopping wet, and literally steaming as he pulled his hands into a fist. Katara only returned his glare, and with a graceful movement of her wrists, pulled another stream from the ocean, ready to fight him again. He, in turn, took a stance, and prepared to strike.

Before either of them could make a move, the old man stepped between them, putting his hand on Prince Zuko's shoulder. "Enough. This is not the time or the place for a fight."

To Katara's surprise, Prince Zuko actually hesitated, and looked to the old man as he spoke. "I'm not starting it−she attacked me!"

Katara opened her mouth, intending to snap back at him, but the old general was already speaking.

"Of course she attacked you−her past experiences with us have hardly been pleasant. Waking up here and seeing you must have been quite the shock. She was probably terrified, and reacted to a perceived threat." Katara wanted to deny that, wanted to tell the firebenders that she wasn't afraid of them…but they did scare her. She had seen how easily fire could snuff out lives. She had seen what fire left behind. They did scare her−but she could take Prince Zuko. She didn't know about the old general, but they were in the middle of the ocean. If it came to a fight, she had an overwhelming advantage.

But it didn't look like it was going to come to a fight. Katara was slightly amazed as she watched the old man talk to Zuko. One thing she knew about Zuko was that he tended to just charge forward, never giving up on his pursuits, and he would quickly instigate a fight. But he seemed to respect the old man, and after a few words, the Fire Prince just clenched his fists, and came out of his stance. Instead, Zuko just crossed his arms and avoided looking at her.

The old general turned to Katara, who was still holding the water up, prepared for a fight. He put his hands up in a peaceful gesture, and even offered Katara a smile. He took a step towards her. "We aren't going to fight you. It would be foolish and senseless. Foolish, because the environment gives you an unquestionable advantage. Senseless, because, for now at least, we are not enemies. We are all lost on this piece of driftwood. We should be cooperating to survive and find land."

Katara eyed him for a moment, and then dropped the water, though her posture remained tense. She still glared at Zuko, who was too busy sulking to notice her.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced," the old man said, strangely cheerful. "My name is Iroh. Zuko is my nephew."

Katara raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding. You're prince hot-head's uncle?" She could hardly believe it−over the past couple minutes, the old general had increasingly proved himself level headed, friendly even. Katara could hardly believe that he could be related to Zuko.

But the old man just smiled even wider and nodded. "And what is your name?"

Katara hesitated. They may be stuck together on this driftwood, but they were still Fire Nation (Fire Nation royalty, at that). Still, it was just her name. What was the worst thing that could happen from her giving them her name? "Katara. My name is Katara."

"Katara. That's a lovely name. A lovely name for a lovely girl." Iroh was smiling kindly towards Katara and after a moment's hesitation, she decided to return it. He didn't seem so bad. Maybe, at least, he could keep his nephew in line. "And you've met my nephew, I believe."

Katara's small smile slipped and her eyes hardened as she looked at the Fire prince. "Yeah, we've met. You know, when he attacked my village. And when he stole my necklace and tied me to a tree. When he paralyzed my brother and I to use as bait−" Katara stopped and her eyes widened. It felt like a puzzle piece had just fallen into place. She felt so stupid for letting her guard down, even for a moment. Of course there was a plot. "That's what this is, isn't it?! That's why I'm here−you've kidnapped me again, trying to use me as bait!" How did not immediately see it?

Zuko looked up from his sulking. "What?" His tone was indignant and shocked. Then his eyes narrowed and he was clearly angry again. "You seriously think I wanted you here? That I wanted to be stuck with you, in the middle of the ocean?! How stupid do you think I am?!"

"Pretty stupid!" she snapped back. Then she stepped back into a waterbending stance, thinking Zuko would attack her for the insult. Instead he just made a face, clenched his fists, and let a stream of fire escape from between his teeth as he growled.

"I should've let you drown!" he shouted, as he turned away and sat back down on the raft, facing away from her.

She heard Iroh let out a sigh, shaking his head. It occurred to Katara that he must deal with Zuko's attitude every day. He looked up over to her, and gestured to the other side of their raft. "I understand why you would assume that you are our prisoner, but I assure you that that is not the case. We have no power now. As I said before, we are drifting on this raft, hoping to find land…we have no need for a prisoner."

Katara hesitated. She looked over to Zuko. He had denied that she was a prisoner−in fact, he seemed to hate being stuck with her as much as she hated being stuck with him. But if that was the case…

"How…did I get here?"

Iroh sighed, frowning lightly. "You were hurt. Zuko found you, and saved you." Katara's eyebrows shot up, and Iroh began to explain.

Four Days Ago

Zuko ran through the canals of the Northern Water Tribe. He knew he had to get out, and quickly−Zhao had already angered the Ocean Spirit, and now that the moon had returned, the Water Tribe's warriors would undoubtedly be on a warpath. Zuko had seen the Ocean Spirit lay waste to the fleet, but there were still other firebenders who had already been in the city, and Zuko could hear them fighting. He heard some of them shouting, ordering a retreat. That would be the smartest thing to do−by now, they were outnumbered, surrounded by the waterbenders' element, on the night of a full moon. But Zuko couldn't retreat. Not until he found his uncle. The entire plan had blown up in his face, like everything else in his life. He'd made it into the city easily enough, undetected. He hadn't been too surprised to see the Water Tribe Peasant; she'd been with the Avatar in nearly every encounter they'd had. Zuko had, admittedly, been surprised by how skilled she was. He knew she hadn't been that good any other time he'd seen her. She must have found a master, and taken well to the teaching. Once again, Zuko thought of Azula. That peasant girl was just like her…he had trained for years and years, and she managed to fight (he refused to call it defeat) him after mere weeks of training.

Zuko felt it before anything happened. A chill passed through him, like a warning, and he heard a small groan as the ice beneath his feet started to crack and pull back. He turned around to see that a large gathering of waterbenders standing on a tall wall, working in synchronization as they performed some sort of waterbending move…a move that would be incredibly powerful with so many waterbenders working together on a full moon. After a few short moments, Zuko realized what they were doing. He only had a second to take a breath before he was underwater. Agni, help him. He'd been submerged in the freezing arctic water before−but then, at least, it had been by choice and he'd had some warning. This time, he was helpless, underwater, and being carried away in a great wave. A couple of times, Zuko felt large chunks of ice scrape by, or even hit him. Leaving some parts of the wave frozen had undoubtedly been a conscious decision−whether they died from being hit with ice, drowning, or just the freezing cold, there would be no firebenders left in their city. But Zuko was stronger than anyone thought−he'd survive.

Finally, the wave slowed down and came to a stop. Zuko eagerly reoriented himself and swam to the surface. He gasped for air as soon as his head was out of the water, he sat there breathing for a few moments, catching his breath, and then breathed a bit of fire out…the water was terribly cold, and Zuko could feel pins sticking into him, everywhere.

He had to get out of the water.

"UNCLE!" he called out. "UNCLE!"

"Over here, Zuko!" Zuko turned around and saw Uncle Iroh, paddling his way over on what looked like a large piece of driftwood. Zuko let out a small sigh of relief…thank Agni Uncle Iroh was okay. As Zuko began to swim over to Iroh, however, another figure floating in the water caught his eye. Blue…Water Tribe? Had those waterbenders accidentally blown away one of their own? Zuko swam closer to the body and stopped swimming as he saw the familiar braid and bun. It couldn't be…

The water peasant. The Avatar's friend−she had gotten caught up in the wave? To think, just minutes before Zuko had been thinking of how the spirits must favor this peasant over him. Now he had survived an attack that had undoubtedly killed many of his countrymen, while the waterbender was killed with her own element.

Except that dead people don't cough. Eyes widening, Zuko reached over and touched her neck…yes, there was definitely a pulse. She was alive, she had also survived the great wave…but she was unconscious, and now that he was close to her, he could see that one spot on back of her head seemed to shine a different color. Blood. So she had miraculously survived the wave, but had probably hit her head on one of the chunks of ice within the wave.

So what was he supposed to do now? Zuko frowned. She wasn't really his concern. In fact, she was his enemy. Somehow, he doubted she'd even appreciate being rescued by him. But then…he couldn't just leave her. She was alive−but there was no way she would survive long alone out here. In the moonlight, Zuko could see that she was paler than usual, and her lips appeared to be turning blue in the icy water. Zuko couldn't leave her out here to die. Zuko recalled how, earlier that night, he had offered his hand to Zhao even after everything that man had done. Zuko just couldn't stand by and someone die…not when he could help. He blew a bit of fire between him and the girl, and used his hands to heat her body a little as he pulled her towards his Uncle raft. He let his uncle pull him up onto the raft, and out of the icy water. Nodding his head towards the Water Tribe girl, he spoke. "She's alive. Help me pull her up."

Katara felt an increasing amount of shock as Iroh relayed the night's events to her. How she had probably gotten caught up in the attack…and how Zuko of all people had rescued her. The story made sense, though she could not remember much from her last night in the Northern Water Tribe. Which, in itself, made sense, given Iroh's description of her head wound. Now that she thought of it, she could feel the slight tightness of a cloth bandage tied around her head. The ache made sense, as well. She took a deep breath as it occurred to her just how close she had to come to death…and who had saved her. As much sense as the story made, Katara could hardly believe that part of the story that Iroh had told her.

"Zuko…saved me?" she murmured. Iroh nodded in confirmation, smiling with what looked like pride. Katara blinked and looked over to where Zuko was still sulking. "He's never really seemed like the rescuing type." Recalling that Iroh was Zuko's uncle, and clearly held a lot of affection for him, Katara quickly added, "Not from what I've seen, at least."

But rather than be upset, Iroh just smiled serenely and said, "You've only seen the worst of my nephew…only seen his rage and frustration. But please believe me when I say that there is good in him. Much goodness." For the first time since Katara had woken up on the raft, Iroh's expression fell, becoming rather downcast. "It is only hidden."

Katara pondered his words as she looked over to Zuko. There was good in him, Katara supposed. She couldn't really deny that−after all, he had rescued her from the icy water, had used his firebending to help her warm up. He didn't have to do that. In fact, some people would probably say he shouldn't have done that. They were enemies. But he still saved her life, even though it did nothing but make things more frustrating for him. However, that still didn't mean much−he had still attacked her village; attacked the Kyoshi warriors' village; taken her necklace; and who knows what else. Not to mention his downright rabid hunt for Aang. He clearly didn't care who he had to hurt to capture the Avatar…the world's last hope for peace. Katara's expression became stony as she looked at the Fire Nation prince. He may have saved her, but that didn't mean anything. So long as he continued to hunt Aang, he was the enemy. Saving her life…while she appreciated being alive, she knew that it wasn't important in the grander scheme. Iroh was talking again. "You've been asleep for the past four days. After your head wound and the cold water, you needed rest. But I'm glad that you've awoken−Zuko and I were starting to worry. Would you let me look at your injury?" Katara let him undo the bandaging he had put around her head.

"Hmm…it looks like it's healing well enough. What about you? Are you seeing everything fine? You aren't dizzy or anything, are you?" Katara shook her head.

"I am sort of hungry," she admitted. Zuko let out an angry groan.

"What do you expect us to do about that? Does it look like we've been have a feast while you were asleep?" He was standing up and glaring at her again. "We haven't got anything for you to eat. We haven't even got drinkable water!" he shouted, motioning to the vast ocean. "Just a bunch of salt water! Which I guess is just great if you want to die faster!"

"Actually," Iroh intervened, "I've had this idea. I've been tossing it around for the past couple days, but Katara's waterbending is a key part of it, so it hasn't really been possible until now." Katara looked to Iroh, raising an eyebrow. "Listen, I understand that this isn't an ideal situation. None of us wanted this. But we are here." He looked over and met Katara's eye. "We can survive this. But only if we work together. We have everything we need." Turning to the ocean, he motioned, "Water."

"Weren't you listening to what I just said?" Zuko interrupted his uncle. "It's salt water. It'll just kill us faster!"

"Yes," Iroh responded. "But with our firebending and Katara's waterbending, we can turn it into fresh water." Katara's eyes lit up in recognition.

"My father taught my brother and I that trick!"

Iroh nodded. "This would normally require pots and such, which unfortunately we haven't got…such a shame. This situation demands tea." Katara raised an eyebrow. Tea? He was thinking about tea? She heard Zuko groan. Apparently, his uncle's desire for tea when they didn't even have water wasn't so surprising to him. "But with your help, we won't need any. You can just bend the water over to us, and we will heat it. When it evaporates, then you can bend the new fresh water back into liquid." Iroh was letting out a large smile, and Katara couldn't help but be moved by his enthusiasm. The plan should work, except…

"I've never done that before," she admitted. "I've bent the usual stuff, you know, water, ice, and snow. But I've never taken water out of the air before." What if she couldn't do it? Then Iroh's plan wouldn't work…they wouldn't have water. Food, Katara knew, a person could go without for quite some time. But water was vital to one's survival. For a moment Katara panicked, and suddenly she found that she empathized with Zuko's apparent pessimism.

But then Zuko himself spoke. "You can do it. You learn fast…a couple months ago you couldn't even freeze the right people and now you're…a decent waterbender." Katara's mouth dropped. She wasn't sure what was stranger−the fact that Zuko was apparently complimenting her, or how bitter Zuko sounded as he said it. But Katara set her jaw, a new feeling of steely determination setting in. She could do it. She had taught herself waterbending for fourteen years, enough that even Pakku had acknowledged it in their duel. Now that she had some actual training…she could figure this out. She had to.

"I'll figure it out," she told Iroh.

"Excellent! And as for food, perhaps we can catch some fish."

Zuko looked over to his uncle. "Do you even know how to fish?"

"It's never too late to learn."

"Urgh!" Zuko smacked his face, glaring into his palm. "We don't even have anything to catch fish with!"

"You have me," Katara pointed out. "Back at the South Pole I'd sometime practice my waterbending by using it to catch fish. I can do that here, too."

Iroh nodded. "Perfect. And then Zuko and I will cook the fish." He looked over to his nephew. "You see, Zuko? We can survive until we find land. Good thing you rescued Katara, or this would have been far less pleasant!"

She looked at Zuko, her face blank this time. He met her gaze with a similarly neutral expression. He frowned, but gave her a single, quick nod. There was…an understanding between them. He had saved her. Now it time for them to cooperate. To survive. That was all they could do for now, all that could be asked of them.

So Katara set to work on figuring out how to draw water from the air. She worked diligently, but Sokka and Aang were on her mind. They distracted her, but they also gave her strength. They must be missing her. What did they think? Did they think have any idea that she was alive? Were they looking for her? Did they…did they think she was dead? She let out a breath, and pulled…there. She saw it−several drops of water materialized. Katara smiled.

She was not going to die here.

So...I'm not dead. And I do not intend on abandoning this fic. It may take me forever to write this to completion, but I fully intend on completing it. In the meantime, I apologize for the long periods of silence, and I hope you enjoy this fic.
Also, there will be TAang in this fic. It's gonna be minor in comparison to the Zutara, but it is present. So, as with the Zutara pairing, keep that in mind before you read this fic. If the pairings aren't for you, please don't read this fic and then write a bunch of comments about how stupid noncanon pairings are. 'Kay?