YAY!

Everyone who has reviewed...YOU ROCK SO HARD! Thank you! And yes, I try and update at least once a day, so if some chapters seem less detailed than others I'm really sorry, I'm not really a Spelling Bee Champ...BUT I ALMOST WAS! Oh, wait...Vandretroft. Anyways, thank you! This one is shorter, but I enjoy the cliffhanger. And, onwards!

Katara gave a soft gasp. The rose flickered gently in his palm, glowing with a muted intensity that echoed the yielding of Zuko's heart. The moment froze and they were sustained in a timeless reality, the fire fluttering delicately between them, a light that drew them from the darkness. Katara drank in the beautiful sight for a few seconds before looking up into his eyes, which hadn't left her for a moment.

He couldn't breathe. He could feel his heart...the heart he found after crying with her in the ocean, after begging her forgiveness...beating more rapidly as each precious moment passed. Her eyes were glowing with outlines of light, the reflection of the rose mirrored in the deep, endless blue waves of her gorgeous eyes...yellow streaks ran up the framework of her face as her eyes softened on him, soothing, gentle...she was captivated by the vivid gold of his scarred eyes, the torment that melted away whenever he looked at her, the peace her presence brought to him...and the strength he channeled to her.

She raised her hand, his eyes still entranced with her flawless beauty. She didn't think before she acted; the intensity of Zuko's gaze made her feel warm, relaxed...her thoughts became confused and unclear, her fingertips brushing against his in an effort to show him what the rose meant to her...

She felt a sudden bite at her fingertips and let out a gasp; Zuko, startled, pulled his hand away and the rose disappeared. Katara was holding her fingers, which had been singed slightly, but not badly burned.

Zuko stuttered for words and reached out, briefly, to take her hand; but he stopped when he realized that he was the cause of her harm. He had been a fool again, believing that his element could be controlled, thinking he could use it to...to express the passion inside, the feeling that grew for her with each passing moment...

"I'm...I'm sorry, that was stupid, I..." he faltered on his words and took a step back, putting her out of harm's way. But Katara wasn't about to let him start blaming himself again.

"No, Zuko, it's alright...it was beautiful," she smiled at him, but he could do nothing but stare, ashamed that he had hurt her again. She looked at her fingers and giggled a little, which made Zuko's insides flutter. "Beautiful, but...untouchable, I think."Zuko paused, staring, his mind numbing again as she dropped her hand, the bite of the burn no longer ailing her.

"Like you..." he whispered suddenly. Katara's eyes met his and she looked at him, confused.

Zuko couldn't bear it. That was what he had been looking for, what he had been trying to label her...the untouchable beauty. The gentle nature he would never possess, never know...the icy eyes didn't have the privilege to gaze into, the heart...he turned away, shaking his head, knowing that the water bender was still confused.

"Never mind...I should...go check on the fire..."

"Right..." whispered Katara. "I'll meet you at the temple later."

"Right." said Zuko softly.

He left her by the pool in the darkness, lighted only by fireflies and moonlight. When he had gotten far enough into the woods, he threw a flaming punch through the air. God, had he screwed up.

"Alright! Finally! Let's go find my sister!" said Sokka, overjoyed at Appa's quick recovery. Aang, who was sitting at the reins, looked down through the clouds and gave a startled gasp.

"Sokka, it's Prince Zuko's ship!"

Sokka looked over the side of the bison and down into the water, where a dark form had just drifted to the side of a nearby island. Momo gave a little screech and huddled beneath Aang's shirt as Sokka leapt back onto Appa.

"What are you waiting for? Go!"

But Aang was watching the fire benders on the shore with increasing interest; a large man was waiting on the beach while a soldier, dressed in full armor and exhausted from the heat, ran up to him, saluted, and began to talk.

"I think they're looking for someone, Sokka.."

"YEAH, Aang. They're looking for YOU. And we don't want them to find you. Keep moving, please? Try that island over there, it's got coconut trees..."

"Sokka, wait -" said Aang slowly. A creeping fear was crawling through him, something her feared to sat out loud. "What...what if Zuko captured Katara?" Sokka looked at the Avatar, startled by the idea.

"Katara...they...they wouldn't, Katara's too smart for them..."

Aang took a second longer looking at the ship, which the large man boarded again in what seemed to be a depressed mood; shaking the thoughts from his head, he spurred Appa onwards.

"Yeah, Sokka...you're probably right..."

Katara gazed down into the pool and closed her eyes again.

The sounds of the waterfall faded gently away; she could feel the streams flowing by her ears, around her body, up her arms...the water fell and splashed around her, always moving in step with the steady rhythm of her slowly beating heart, her mind falling into the cool majesty of the water's gentle touch. The water threatened, briefly, to engulf her; she let it absorb her body for a moment and felt a sensation she assumed was similar to Zuko's. An strange and potent need overcame her, a need to become water, to fall into the icy depth of the pool and never come up for air...but she would drown if she let it control her, be wasted away in the deception...and she realized then why her element must be controlled, why she should never give in fully to its power...

She opened her eyes and the water drifted gently back into the pond. She looked up at the sky to see if she could recognize any of the constellations, but flinched when she felt something nip her arm.

"What? Stupid bugs -"

She scratched the bite and her attention focused suddenly on the poor condition of her skin. She had been tossed by the sea and climbing up and down ridges for the past three days, and her body was filthy.

She cringed inwardly at her state of uncleanliness and decided to wash before she went to bed; wading into the water, she headed towards the waterfall, lifting up her shirt as she went.

Zuko poked the fire restlessly. The dark horizon was blank, void of search lights or lanterns of ships; he grumbled and put his chin in his hand, irritated that they hadn't been rescued, that he had acted so stupidly around Katara...

Why the hell do I care so much? Why did I make her a stupid flower...why...

He poked the fire again and let the flames slide up his bandaged arms. There was something odd about the way he treated his element now...it was no longer this fiend threatening to consume him, this terrible demon that burned constantly within his heart, glaring, angry. Now he could control it...now it had become what, he supposed, other fire benders saw it as. A trusting ally, a part of himself that turned and flowed with his own emotions, a changing, growing flame that no longer forced him to fury each time he drew it from his fingers.

With that his mind turned to Katara and her mastery of water bending; he wondered, briefly, if she was still by the pool practicing. He smiled, wanting to see if she could repeat the trick without his help. Running his hand through the flames, the fire became a brilliant glow and he stood, knowing it would burn for at least another hour.

Smiling at the thought of walking into the glade with water flying everywhere, he turned from the ridge and began to descend the slope, the shadow of the temple at his back.