Disclaimer: This story, however great it is, is not mine. It belongs to a friend of mine who isn't allowed to have an account on this sight. She gave me permission to post it here, so ENJOY!

Katara woke up to hear someone talking. She sat up in her sleeping bag and looked around. Are we being ambushed? Did someone get hurt? Katara's gaze wandered to the fire and she gasped. It was dancing wildly, growing taller and taller. Then it suddenly dropped down to leap up again and Zuko let out a set of whimpers. Katara quickly shot water at the fire to douse the flames as they jumped another foot higher. Then Katara saw Zuko. He was sleeping near the fire and was curled up into a tight ball. "No…no…" He mumbled, squirming. He must be dreaming. Should I wake him up? Was he making the fire do that? Katara thought. She tiptoed over to Zuko and gently tapped on his shoulder. He shot up in his sleeping bag with a shout of surprise and gasping for air. His hand flew to his scar. "NO! AH! Katara…?" Zuko exclaimed. "Are you okay? Did you have a bad dream?" Katara asked, a worried expression forming on her face. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a nightmare." Zuko replied. He was shivering. "Are you sure? It's okay if you aren't okay, you know. You can tell me about it if that would make you feel better. Katara offered, sitting down beside Zuko and squeezing his hand.

"Just go back to sleep, I'll be fine." Zuko insisted. "I can tell you're scared. You're shaking," Katara said, wrapping her arms around Zuko's shoulders and holding him tight. Zuko "I won't tell anyone if you tell me." "Well…okay. I had a dream about Ozai, and have been for a while. I wake up screaming or having a panic attack every time, but I've been scared to tell anyone in case they think it's childish." Zuko replied. "He did awful things to you, Zuko. He put you through a lot of pain. Of course you're scared of him. Everyone is scared of him. But you're strong, and you've left him behind. I won't let him hurt you again." Katara said firmly, pulling Zuko even closer. Zuko rested his head on Katara's shoulder, feeling safer in her arms. She was like a force field that protected him from everything bad. "Thank you. I needed to hear that." Zuko replied, putting an arm around Katara. "My dream was about when Ozai scarred me. It kept replaying itself over and over again, along with other times he got angry and hurt me when I was younger. And even though you can't feel pain in dreams, I know I felt something every time. I just want to be able to sleep without the worst moments of my life getting replayed for me. I'm so tired of waking up terrified and not wanting to go to sleep." Zuko explained, shivering at the memory. Katara hugged Zuko tighter. "That's terrible! No one should have to go through that. Everything is going to be okay. I used to have bad nightmares too after my mom died. I was really little too. I understand. It's going to get better, I promise." Katara said. "I know, it just felt so real. Every night the dreams keep getting worse, and it takes me longer to recover every time. I don't know if it's ever going to stop." Zuko replied.

"I wish I could take all the dreams away, I really do. But I can't. But I can help you recover. I hate to see you so scared." Katara said. "Thank you, Katara. I think that telling you about it did help me. Maybe the nightmare won't come back when I go back to sleep." Zuko responded, smiling a little. "Well, if you're ready to go back to sleep, then I'll leave you to do that. I'll see you in the morning." Katara said, giving Zuko one last squeeze and a kiss on the cheek before untangling herself from him and walking to her sleeping bag.

Zuko froze in shock for a moment, a blush spreading across his cheeks. Was this a dream too? Zuko got back into his sleeping bag, smiling. He drifted off to sleep with a warm feeling inside. And when he fell asleep, no nightmares came for the first time in months, maybe years.