Okay, I've been having a really weird day. It's had both extreme bads and goods, some of the bads being that I got in a fender bender (of which my parents are to never know about), a seven-year-old told me I was hot and I already typed this, but my stupid computer didn't save any of this authors note, so I am now retyping it, but as a much more condensed version. Good things though are that I am an aunt. Again. For the ninth time. Neice number five was born this morning. Also I've adopted an adorable little kitten that I found in my garage. The only problem is that I'm to indecisive to come up with a name for her myself so I'm asking for your suggestions. She's calico with bright orangs stripes on her face, she's about two months old and she's a very sleek cat. Personality wise she's a cuddler and she's pretty timid. I haven't gotten her to chase string yet, but she doesn't seem to mind water. I gave her a bathbecause she's kinda crusty. Please give me ideas.

Now for SHOUTOUTS!

Zukopunk: I'm sorry about your head. Just stop falling!

Ceriadera: Don't worry, here's the next chapter. Please don't hurt me.

Lovergal1227: Yes, I am the epitomy of evil. I hope you didn't loose too much sleep.

Newsiefreak9er9er: I am glad that you laugh.

Starchic: Don't worry, Zuko will be fine.

Khazia: Nice underwear story. I figured a lot of people would be able to relate to this.

MitariWaterDragon: Yay! Cake! Don't pass out, just breath in and out, in and out.

Athenera: Normally I would have absolutely jumped on that suggestion, but I already had this chapter and the next one done at the time. If you want steamy-ness, wink wink, I'll try to put some in. But hey, if you want to do a spinoff of this story, feel free. Just remember where it came from.

Plutobaby494: Here's the update you were asking for.

Zulaya: Dont worry, Zhao's going to get his. Maybe not badly, but he's going to feel the burn.

Flying Green Flamingo: Welcome aboard. I'm glad you like my story. By the way, I read your bio and I am a major x-men fan as well. I also love teen titans. My favorite character is Jericho, but I have a feeling he's not going to be put in the cartoon. I have a suspicion he's red X but it's only a suspicion. If you haven't read the comix, Jericho (Joe Wilson) is Slade's son.

Okay, here's the next chapter. Just to let ya'll know, I really do know how to use a bow and arrow, and use them well. I'm not just pulling a Xena thing in the story. I come from a very out-doorsy family. Now, put your hands in the air!

WHOOOOooooooo!

Katie followed Zhao and his company through the maze of people, but held back for a bit when they entered the trees. Katie really had no idea what she would do if the time came that Zuko would need her help and looked around desperately for inspiration. She saw a shop selling weapons and gratefully bought a small bow and a quiver of arrows, then entered the woods after them. Zhao went quite a ways into the woods. Every now and then he would stop to listen for footsteps behind him, but Katie had taken off Zuko's spare boots that she had been wearing under her Kimono and barely made any noise at all as she crept carefully over the boulders. Zhao finally found a place he was satisfied with and motioned for his men to stop.

"Now prince Zuko, I want you to answer me now, and I want you to answer me truthfully. Where is the girl?"

"Why does she even matter to you Zhao?"

"Because I was made a fool of in front of my men. And not only that, I was made a fool by a female slave. She needs to be made an example of, and I will not stop until that happens." Zhao hissed in Zuko's ear. "Now, are you going to tell me where she is, or not?" Zuko merely glared. "Fine then. Lieutenant." The biggest of the two men that was holding Zuko's arm suddenly swung Zuko around (as the other man let go of his other arm) and slammed him into a tree trunk. There was a crash and a sickening pop as Zuko's shoulder dislocated. Zuko let out a short cry of surprise and pain but immediately jumped to his feet. He created a ball of flame and threw it at one of the soldiers but another came up behind him and grabbed his arms, pulling them tightly behind Zuko's back. Zuko let out a grunt of pain and tried to struggle. Zhao stepped forward and punched Zuko as hard as he could in the stomach.

"TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!" Zhao yelled and delivered another blow. Katie couldn't take it anymore. She notched an arrow into the bowstring and poked her head above the bush she was hiding behind. There wasn't much resistance as she pulled back the string and she hoped desperately that the arrow would actually make it the forty-yard distance. Her father's voice went through her mind as she took aim, reminding her to anchor her elbow at her ear, to take her time. She sighted along the shaft; Admiral Zhao was in her sight. Then she released. Zhao let out a yell when the arrow pierced his shoulder. It hadn't been where Katie had been aiming for, but it was a lucky shot that had made it between the plaits of his armor and into his flesh. Katie ducked down as the soldiers began running around in confusion. She notched another arrow and peered through the bushes. She saw another opportunity and sat up quickly, drew back the string and fired. She didn't see if the arrow struck it's target, but a satisfying yell let her know it had. Katie crawled a little ways from the bush and moved behind a tree. She aimed and fired again, but missed.

"It's coming from that direction!" one of the soldiers cried and Katie could hear a few of them running towards her. She readied another arrow and pulled back the bowstring. She listened for the footsteps, trying to judge just where they were, then whirled around the tree. She only had a second to aim this shot, but the soldier was close enough that it was all she needed. The arrow buried itself deep into his thigh causing him to collapse. His companion, who had been running on his heels, tripped over him and landed spread-eagle in the dirt. Zuko had managed to knock out the man holding his arms and ran towards Katie. He kicked the man that had tripped hard in the face as he passed, knocking him out as well.

"Come on." He said grabbing Katie's arm and pulling her after him. They ran pell-mell through the forest until Zhao's screams were far behind them. As they ran the wind began to pick up and the first few drops of rain splattered on the ground around them. Katie was grateful that the weather had kept calm for as long as it did. She was surprised she had made most of those shots at all, there was no way she would have been able to in the wind. The rain came down harder until it became a downpour. Katie's skin began to sting as the icy rain pelted her. Zuko touched her hand and pointed to a small cave type thing. She nodded and they both made for this. The cave was very shallow, only five feet deep, but it was tall enough for them to stand up in. They leaned against the walls panting for breath. Zuko let out a small hiss of pain and clutched his shoulder.

"Here, let me see it." Katie said stepping over to him. She helped him take off his armor and sat him down on the dry ground. She felt the area around his shoulder. She could feel where it had been dislocated. It wasn't too bad. She'd seen worse. "This is going to hurt."

"Just do it." Katie gently pulled his arm away from his body so that it was held straight out. Then she placed a knee under his armpit, tugged the arm as hard as she could and twisted it until she heard a faint pop of it sliding back into place. Zuko hadn't made a sound, but his face was extremely tight and sweat was pouring down his face. Katie gently massaged the shoulder.

"That was nice shooting by the way." He said giving her a weak smile.

"Thanks. How's your stomach?"

"It's been through worse." Katie smiled at him but her face turned serious as she looked outside the cave entrance.

"Do you think he'll come looking for us?" She asked fearfully.

"Not tonight. The weather's too bad and he's wounded. We should still leave here before dawn." Katie nodded and pulled her knees up under her chin.

"What's going to happen now? He's not going to let us back on the ship alive." Zuko leaned back against the cave wall and thought about it for a few minutes.

"I have a great aunt that lives just outside the city boundaries. I'm sure that she will help us send word to my uncle to meet us at a different port."

"Wouldn't Zhao know about any family you have around here?" Katie asked apprehensively.

"I don't think so, she's an aunt on my mothers side of the family. I barely know her myself." Zuko said shaking his head.

"Then how do you know she'll help us?"

"That's just the way my mother's family is." He said with a shrug. "We should try to get some sleep." Zuko said and lay down on the hard ground. Katie followed suit and curled up next to him. Her clothes were soaking from the rain and she just couldn't figure out why it was so cold when it had felt like tropical weather only an hour ago. Zuko could feel her shivering and scooted closer to her. He wrapped an arm over her shoulders and Katie sank into his warmth gratefully. His body seemed to be radiating an unnatural heat that she knew was from his firebending. Slowly the shivering disappeared and it was replaced with exhaustion. Katie nuzzled closer to Zuko, her eyelids growing heavy. He pulled back a little and stroked her cheek with one finger. Katie raised her face to look at him and saw something in his eyes that she had never seen before. He leaned down and kissed her softly. This wasn't her first kiss, it was far from it. But, in her mind, it was her first real kiss. She felt compassion, fear and a whole plethora of emotions behind this kiss and it almost overwhelmed her. But she didn't just feel emotions; she felt a physical heat travel from his lips through her entire body. She felt warmth spread inside as though she had just taken a sip of hot chocolate. She kissed him back, deepening it a little. She wanted this to last forever. Unfortunately she needed to breath sometime. When they drew away, Zuko rested his head on the ground next to hers and kissed her forehead gently before he drifted off into sleep. Katie wrapped an arm around his waist and buried her head into his chest. Where did that come from? She wondered as sleep overtook her as well.

When Katie woke up the next morning, she felt so warm and content that for a moment she thought she was home in her nice warm bed. But there was a rock digging uncomfortably into her hip, so the illusion quickly faded. She opened her eyes and looked up at Zuko's face. They had moved together in their sleep, he was now on his back and she was curled up at his side. She rested her head against his chest for a moment longer, savoring the feeling and listening to his slow steady heartbeat. But she was feeling extremely paranoid and had to see for herself that Zhao wasn't waiting just outside the cave. She carefully untangled herself from him and crept to the cave opening. Immediately she noticed the cold. Her clothes were still quite damp from the night before and they clung heavy and cold against her skin. It was still pretty dark out, but there was a faint blue tinge to the east. Katie calculated that it must be around six. She turned and watched Zuko's sleeping form for a while. As though he sensed her eyes on him he began to stir. When he realized Katie was no longer in his arms he sat up straight, instantly alert. But he relaxed when he saw her sitting a few feet away.

"Good morning." She whispered.

"And you as well." He said just as quietly.

"How's the arm?" She crawled back over until she was sitting right in front of him and began massaging the shoulder.

"It's stiff, but I think I'll live." He grinned and watched her face as she rubbed his arm. She gave him a little smile and looked up into his face, suddenly she felt extremely shy. He placed his forehead against hers and closed her eyes. "I never thanked you for rescuing me yesterday."

"Yeah, well. You would have done the same." She brought her arms up and wrapped them around his neck. He leaned down and kissed her. She felt the same strange sensation that she had experienced the night before. But much to her displeasure this kiss didn't last as long. Zuko pulled away and stood up trying to move his injured arm as little as possible.

"We should head out now. If I remember right and if we are where I think we are, we should get to my great aunt's by noon." Katie stood up and followed him out of the cave, grabbing her bow and quiver on the way.

After several hours of walking, Katie was beginning to regret having taken off Zuko's boots. Her feet had built up quite some resistance against rocks due to the fact that she had hardly worn shoes the entire summer. But feet can only take so much. She tried to walk through patches of plants as much as she could, but some of these were worse than the rocks.

"Are we there yet?" Katie asked putting on a whiny seven-year-old voice. Zuko stopped and looked around.

"I haven't been here since I was five, but I remember this stream. If we keep following it, it should take us right to her manor."

"Manor? Is your great-aunt loaded or something?"

"Loaded?"

"Rich."

"Oh, yes she is. Her husband was the duke of this area. He owned all the surrounding ground and ran nearly a dozen plantations at one time. They were rice mostly, but they own one of the larges vineyards in the world." Zuko said glancing around once more to get his bearings. There was a giant weeping willow hanging over the stream. Zuko saw this and smiled. "I would play with my cousins under that tree for hours. I spent the summer here once when I was little." He explained. They walked to the tree and Zuko ran a hand fondly over the trunk.

"So are we close then?" Katie asked balancing on one foot to pick a rock out of her toe.

"Yes, it's just around this bend." They began walking once more, but hadn't gone more than a few steps when they heard a rustling in the reeds to their left. They both took a defensive stance to see a small pale face stare at them curiously. Then the face emitted an ear-piercing shriek and scurried away.

"What the hell was that!" Katie said trying to regain control of her heartbeat.

"I think it was a relative." They began walking and within seconds a huge house loomed through a group of large, well-kempt trees. When they came closer a group of people came out of the beautiful house to greet them.

"Welcome nephew!" An old frail woman was the first to reach them and she immediately wrapped Zuko into a warm hug. He hesitated for a second, but wrapped his good arm around her awkwardly.

"Thank you aunt Shinja." He said. The old woman pulled away from him and gazed at his face. She touched his scar sadly but turned her attention to Katie almost immediately.

"And who are you dove?" she asked.

"My name is Katie Lin. I'm…a friend." Shinja gave her a scrutinizing look.

"You have the look of Earthnation. But I suppose that if my nephew trusts you enough to travel with you, I will as well." She pulled Katie into an equally affectionate hug despite her remark.

"Aunt Shinja, we need your help-" Zuko began, but the old woman held a finger to his lips.

"Ah ah. You can tell me about your predicament later, for now you two are worn and weary. Meeka! Ellisme! Please draw miss Lin a bath and get fresh clothes for her." Two girls had stepped forward and they did a little curtsy. They both turned abruptly and walked towards the house. Katie glanced at Zuko who gave her an encouraging smile and squeezed her hand gently. Katie followed the girls with one thought in mind. A bath! YAY!

Giggle I kissed Zuko. At least I wish I did. Anyhoo, don't forget I need a good name for my cat.