Chapter Fourteen

Her bed was moving, how odd. Wait… she wasn't in bed… Her eyes flashed open and she was staring into amber eyes.

"Sorry." His breath fluttered a lock of hair on her cheek. "I didn't mean to wake you."

She quickly sat up, trying to get her bearings. "No, it's okay…"

There was an awkward silence before Zuko sat up next to her, positioned hip to hip. "How did you sleep?"

"Very well. I was so tired and you're very warm."

"Fire bender." He reminded her, nervously running a hand through his hair. "Uh, they should be here any time now with breakfast, so I thought I'd get up…" He trailed off, avoiding looking at her.

"Good idea."She quickly agreed then stood to put a bit of distance between them and stretched. Last night had done her some good. All that heat had loosened up her muscles and she was feeling very well rested, though she tried not to linger on why that was.

Zuko was looking much better as well. Sleep had done him good, she told herself. A day off seemed to improve his health too.

The normal routine followed, Cain came and harassed them, bending was taken from them, they were fed and then led off to the bathroom before being returned to their cell to wait their impending torture.

Katara's eyes flickered over Zuko's body, taking in the pink skin that had been burned, the bruises that were in various stages of healing, ranging from yellow to deep blue and purple and the other cuts and injuries he had accrued. She found herself sickened by all the brutality he had endured and even his left scarred eye made her stomach churn. That had been inflicted by his own father; she could never imagine her father doing anything to ever hurt her or Sokka. She worried her lower lip with her teeth and let her gaze travel over each part of him until she reached his good eye, surrounded in bruises but watching her study him.

Her heart skipped a beat as she realized he was watching her. "What?" He asked quietly, his gaze never wavering.

"I just…" the words seemed to stick in her throat. "Uh, I was just seeing how your wounds looked."

He nodded solemnly, still watching her. She bit her lip, still wanting to check more thoroughly. Her bending was back and she could tell the moon was waxing and there was no water so that wouldn't help, but she was sure she could get a more accurate read on his injuries.

She looked so worried that Zuko gave her a soft, teasing smile. "Isn't it hard to see from over there?" He had a point, she was several feet away and the flickering torches weren't a reliable light source.

She raised her chin at his mocking, stood and paced bravely toward him. She kneeled before him, stern look in place. "Shut up." She reached out to touch his face, but at the last minute shied away, letting her fingers curl in. She was about to pull away and bear the brunt of his teasing, but gently he snagged her wrist.

"It's okay." He reassured her. Her fingers straightened and he placed them lightly on his unscarred but heavily bruised cheek. His eyes captured hers and they stayed staring at one another, her fingers lightly pressed against his cheek unmoving. He slowly released his breath and let his eyes close, releasing her from their trap. She gave herself a mental shake and placed both hands on his face, slowly and carefully running her hands over his skin, feeling all the damage below the surface. She then let her fingers graze down his neck and he shuddered lightly beneath her touch. "Sorry." She whispered, surprised she had elicited such a response. Maybe he's ticklish. She reasoned as she continued to inspect the damage she could see, but progress was hampered by his clothing.

He felt her hesitate above his collar. "Do you need me to take it off?"

"No." She said quickly, too quickly for he opened his eyes to look askance of her. "I can, uh, tell through your shirt." He continued to stare and it was unnerving her. "Ready?" She asked, keeping her voice steady, glad her hands were still pressed firmly enough against him to hide the slight shake.

He nodded. "Go ahead." Leaning back once more and closing his eyes. She traced her fingers over the well defined ridges of his muscles. She ignored the solid planes they made under her questing hands and focused very hard on feeling the damaged skin and flesh beneath. It was a little difficult to tell with all the burns covered up, but she felt something that particularly worried her in the center, though it seemed healed enough.

"What's this?" She asked, lightly probing the spot she felt.

"That?" He asked, leaning forward as he looked at where her hand was pressed. "Well that's…" He lifted his shirt to revel a starburst of scar tissue. "That's where Azula tried to kill you." He wouldn't meet her gaze, staring instead at the jagged patch of discolored skin.

"You really did save my life."

"She would have killed you. I'm hard to get rid of." He was caught off guard when she wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace, her hair brushing his face.

"You could have died." He could hear the strain in her voice; the emotions she was trying to keep at bay.

He looped one arm around her; the other ran over her hair and settled on her back. "It's difficult to kill me."

She started to pull back and he reluctantly released her. She was kneeling before him, her eyes glittering in suppressed tears. "Be really careful."

He knew she was referring to when they came for him. "I will."

"Don't let them hurt you."

"They won't." His tone was grave, but he felt a bit more confident than usual with the rest he had gotten.

"Don't fight them too much when they take you. You don't need any more bruises."

He wanted to protest, but couldn't find it in himself to do so. "I'll try not to."

"And I'll be okay when they come for me." She added quickly.

"Katara," He placed his hands on her shoulders, anchoring her darting gaze with his own. "Stop worrying so much about me. I'm okay."

"Old habits die hard." She muttered, forcing a weak smile.

He gave her shoulder a brief squeeze, wanting to reassure her more but they heard the tell tale scuff of boots approaching. They scrambled to their feet.

Cain stopped before them and jabbed a finger at Zuko. "You! Come here!" He barked. Zuko stared him down as he slowly approached the bars. "Hurry up! I want to make up for lost time." He growled. Katara tried to hide a wince and her fingernails dug into her palms. Zuko remained calm but Cain had peered around him and was glowering at Katara. "Your girlfriend seems more worried than you. She should be."

A knot of dread buried itself deep in her stomach as she watched the chi blocker do his work as Cain opened the door, keeping a wary eye on Katara as he gruffly jerked Zuko from the cell. He watched her for a reaction as he struck Zuko a few times. She winced, but made no further protest. He wanted a reaction from her. If she didn't give one, he was more likely to leave Zuko alone. Zuko also tried to deny the cruel man any satisfaction as he kept his response to a low grunt with each blow. Cain quickly grew bored and had the guards haul him away, following his lead. When they were gone, Katara slumped and let out the breath she had been holding. She had to work to release her tight grip and stared at the crescent moons indented in her palm. Absently she rubbed at the marks trying not to worry too much about Zuko. He said he would be alright. He could handle himself, that she knew. And he had time to recuperate, right? That was in his favor, but she had a dreadful feeling of what would transpire with the way Cain had taunted them. She passed time the best she could, but it was increasingly difficult. Time crawled by and she was sure it had been hours based on how low the torches had burned before she heard them approaching the cell once more.

She gasped. Zuko hung limp between the two guards. Zuko never needed to be supported by the guards; he always returned standing tall, sporting any injuries with no complaint. She rushed the bars. "Zuko! Zuko, what happened?!" She cried. Cain slammed his hand against the bars, trying to get her to back up but she didn't. "What did you do to him?!" She demanded.

"Back up!"

"What did you do?!" She screamed back.

Cain aimed a foot through the bars, catching her in the ribs and sending her reeling back to the floor. Then he quickly had the guards toss Zuko in. He remained in a crumpled pile.

"Zuko!" She shrieked and rushed to his side. She rolled him onto his back but he was unconscious, an enormous burn across his front and evidence of so many traumas everywhere else. "I have to heal him!" She shouted. Cain stood near the bars, a bemused look on his face. "Please!" She begged turning from his wreck of a body. "Please let me heal him! He could die!"

She stood and grasped the bars, eyes leaking as she begged their cruel jailer. "You're supposed to keep him alive! He suffered too much damage. If you don't let me heal him, he'll die! Please! Please give me some water!"

There was hope. Cain seemed to be considering.

"I won't cause any problems. I swear it! If you let me save him, I'll do whatever you want! I won't struggle or fight you anymore. Please…" Her voice cracked in a broken sob. "Please… I'll do anything… Just let me save him." She used the bars to support herself as she sobbed.

"Get the water." He told one of the guards grimly. Katara lifted her head, struggling to see through her streaming eyes. "If you try anything, I'll kill you, orders or not. Do you understand?" He bared his teeth.

Her throat was too choked to reply so she nodded emphatically. The man returned with a pail of water and handed it to the captain. He unlocked the door and set it by Zuko's unnervingly still body. Cain stood careful guard, just inside the door, his hand on the pommel of his sword just in case. Katara rushed to Zuko, falling to her knees and drawing the water to her. It gloved her hands in glowing blue and she pressed them to the burn encompassing most of his torso. The tears stung her eyes so she closed them to work. It helped her focus, not seeing his still face griped in pain.

She started with the giant burn in the center of his body, working to get the burned skin to heal and knit together. She could tell there was an infection and since he was so weak, it was already spreading incredibly quickly. She was so grateful she was able to fix it before it had become any worse. It was a long, tense time before the giant burn had transformed back into pale, smooth skin with the exception of the lightning scar. She examined her work before moving along to the other cuts, burns and bruises that littered his body. It had to have been at least an hour before she released the water splashing back into the bucket. She pulled on the tatters of Zuko's shirt and freed a strip, dunking it in the water and gently dabbing at his face, removing some of the soot and grime.

A low moan and Zuko started to come to life beneath the cool cloth. His eyes fluttered open and the first thing he saw was the haggard face of Katara hovering nervously over him. He pulled himself into a sitting position, startled that it didn't hurt.

"Zuko." Relief was strongly evident as she flung her arms around him, hugging him fiercely. He held her trying to figure out what was going on. He felt completely better; maybe a little hungry and tired still, but nothing hurt. Judging by the way Katara was crushing herself to him, he'd have bet solid money he was dead and this was the afterlife.

"Katara." Cain's voice was a quiet command. She stiffened and Zuko's grip tightened, pulling her away from the voice and glaring at the speaker. Definitely not dead; Cain was still here.

"Come here." The command was quiet but they could hear the satisfied leer in it. Her arms felt heavy as they slid off Zuko and she started to pull away. Zuko was so surprised he let her go instead of keeping his grip like he wanted. She stood slowly. "Bring the bucket."

Katara crouched to retrieve the bucket that sloshed with water. Suddenly it dawned on Zuko. She had healed him. Cain would never allow that, would he? She must have bartered for that one. "Katara, what did you do?" He said quietly, his voice full of horror. She paused for a moment, shoulders stiffening before she continued her shuffled walk to Cain. She proffered him the bucket but one of the other guards intercepted it as Cain sneered down at her.

"Good girl." He pat her on the head in a degrading way. Katara remained meagerly hunched before him.

"Katara!" Zuko called, clambering quickly to his feet.

Katara flinched, but continued to stare at the ground.

Cain made eye contact with Zuko and Zuko glared menacingly while Cain smiled maliciously. "Katara. Go now."

Her hands clenched and she bit her lip, but she trudged off down the hallway, closely flanked by the remaining guards.

"Katara!" Zuko called after her and he gripped the bars angrily. "What did you do to her Cain?!"

He laughed cruelly. "Do? I didn't do anything. She chose this."

"What are you talking about?!" Zuko yelled, his frustration and anger growing. If his bending had returned by now, he'd probably be spitting flames.

"Didn't you know?" He taunted, loving every moment of it. "She'll do anything I tell her. She even willingly walked off to her own torture!" He cackled gleefully.

"Why?!" Zuko asked slamming his hands against the bars, but the sinking pit in his stomach knew why.

He laughed hard, clutching his gut. "It's your fault. She begged and pleaded for your miserable life." He wiped a tear of laughter from his eye. "She offered anything if she could save you. Anything." He emphasized with a quirked brow and sickening smile.

Zuko launched himself at the bars grasping desperately for Cain as he jumped back. "If you so much as touch her, I will kill you!" He screamed, murder glinting in his golden eyes.

"We'll see." He said ominously as he walked down the hall chuckling.

Sarahplainntall here. Sorry I didn't update this on Monday like I usually do and meant to. Things are crazy and I lost track of time. Hope you enjoyed. REVIEW! :D