No offense to people who love Mac computers but I think they are the devil. I have a windows computer at home, but my school computer is a Mac and it's driving me nuts because it isn't compatible with most of the software my teacher uses. Grrr. I got my set of shop keys from my boss today and I asked him what he wanted me to do. Normally I work with this guy named Bryce and he gives me orders, but Bryce moved to St. George so now I'm alone. My boss tells me that there are some things to be sanded and to do that and he would meet me there in an hour. Turns out there are no boards to sand and I can't find any speakers to hook up or anything else that could occupy my time and earn me some money in that hour. I come up with nothin, so I sit in my car and write this chapter. Two hours pass and my boss never shows up, so I just left. It was a waste of gas.Speaking of gas, it's killing me. Everyday I drive about 60 miles going to my college class which takes place twenty miles away, then I have to go to high school, then I have to go to work. It's just all soaking away my meager funds. GAAAH! Anyways, that's enough venting about my pitiful life.

Plutobaby494: I don't know if it's the last time we see the trio yet. I'm just making this up as I go.

ODragon: I'm really sorry you had to go to prison...er...skool. And Katie and Zuko are not related in any way. You can trust me on this even though to tell you the truth I don't know the names or faces of 1/10 of my cousins. You never know.

Zukoscute2: Well, sorry but contact with me usually does lead to insanity. I probably should have warned ya sooner. I can't wait to see your story, I'm keeping my eyes open.

Newsiefreak9er9er: yes, I am evil. Hey! You're a poet and you didn't even know it! And I'm totally lame, but who can ya blame?

Khazia: I personally have never seen Fantastic 4 which everyone thinks is weird because I'm a comic book freak (what can I say, they're mini soap operas with buffguys running around in tights), and I never would have thought of the human torch thing. That's great! I should probably be cleaning too. My family is camping until wednesday and the house is kind of a mess.

Lovergal1227: You should write 'em up for harrassment and get a gazillion dollars out of your sister and friend.

ZukoPunk: Wow, I'm really sorry to hear that. If you ever need anybody to unload on, my email addy is in my profile page.

Then there's someone else who reviewed, I can see it on my stats page but my stupid computer won't let me see the actual review until tomorrow. So whoever you are, I'm thinkin' of ya.

Kay, this chapter is much longer than the last, so I hope you enjoy it!

Zuko felt the air catch in his chest. He couldn't breathe, but it didn't matter. It was as though something that had been out of focus for so long was now shoved right under his nose. He reached out with a shaking finger and gently traced the lines of her face. A face he couldn't remember, but knew so well. He turned to Katie who was watching him carefully, chewing on her bottom lip. Zuko opened his mouth but couldn't speak. He turned back to the portrait of his mother. He ran a hand over his face quickly and then placed it back on his mother's portrait, he felt emotions mounting up inside him and it was scaring him. He really wished Katie would leave so she wouldn't see him like this. As though she heard his thoughts, Katie gently squeezed his shoulders and disappeared from the room.
Katie had changed into a white night gown and sank into her soft bed with a sigh, she fell asleep almost instantly. She woke up three hours later when the door to her bedroom opened with a creak. Light from the hallway spilled over her and she could see the outline of Zuko's form enter the room and close the door behind him. He lit a small flame in the palm of his hand and walked over to the side of Katie's bed. He stood there staring at her for several seconds. Katie didn't know if it was just a trick of the dancing flames, but his eyes looked very red and swollen. He extinguished the flame and pulled back the covers of her bed. Without a word he crawled in beside her and rested his face on her chest, listening to the rhythm of her heartbeat. Katie wrapped one arm around his shoulders and stroked his cheek with her other. She had never touched his scar before. The skin was hard and shriveled but she didn't shrink away, she just continued to stroke his face. After a while longer of silence she thought he had fallen asleep.

"I can remember her now. I remember everything about her. She always seemed so tired, but she always wanted to play with me anyways. She was a very frail person. I also remember my father being sad over her. I can't remember any other time my father was like that. He used to smile, but since she died, I've never seen his mouth so much as twitch. I think her death really changed him." There was silence for another long while. Katie didn't really know what to say to him, so she just held him and waited to see if he said anymore. "I think my father blamed us, Zula and I, for our mother's death. He's always been so distant with us. The first time I remember having a conversation with him was when I was five." He lifted his head so that he could see Katie's face. There wasn't much moonlight tonight, but he could see the reflection of it in her dark eyes. In this light her face was pale and he could see her resemblance to his mother even more. "What does it mean?"

"What does what mean?"

"How is it that you look so much like her? You're not actually my older sister or something are you?"

"No, my mother's name is Debbie and I look just like her." Katie said laughing quietly. "I don't really think it means anything. It's just a really bizarre coincidence." Zuko stared into her face for a while longer, then kissed her chin which was the only part of her face he could reach. He rested his head back on her chest and fell asleep with a sigh. Katie was in a very awkward position. Zuko was holding her in a vise-like grip and when he had crawled into bed he hadn't taken off his boots. Katie shifted around as best she could but it was no use. She finally managed to turn her body a little bit so that at least his boots weren't digging into her legs anymore. She kissed Zuko's forehead and drifted back to sleep for the third time that night.

"Please, just let me polish it."

"No!" Zuko laughed.

"Come on, I want to see how much I can make that sucker shine." Katie said walking towards Zuko menacingly with a soft rag in her hand.

"I promise you, this is as shiny as my head gets."

"You mean you've polished your own head before?" Katie asked with a laugh.

"Let's see, how would you put it? Oh yes…duh!" Zuko grabbed her hands and pried the rag from her fingers, tossing it over his shoulder. "Besides, we should be preparing for our trip."

"Are we going to be walking to this next port?" Katie asked grabbing one of the shirts Shinja had given her and stuffing it into her bag.

"No. We'll be taking my aunt's rhinos. My uncle has offered to escort us thereand bring them back." Zuko said, helping Katie sort through the fine clothes for anything more practical for her to wear. He found a 'bra' under one of the gowns and picked it up. He inspected it closely and then held it out for Katie to see. "So how does this thing work again?" He asked giving her a sly grin.

"Hand it over you freak of nature. Just for that comment you're never going to find out." Katie said with a smile, grabbing it from him and shoving it into the bag as well. "I think I can handle this on my own. Why don't you go pack your own stuff?" Katie said trying to suppress a laugh as he peered into the sack after the bra. He grumbled something, but left anyways. Katie walked around the room restlessly, looking for anything else she would need. She walked over to the stand next to her bed and grabbed something resembling a toothbrush that Shinja had given her. This was the thing of which Katie was most grateful. Above the stand was a mirror, for the first time in days Katie took a good long look at herself. She still had the long scratch on her face, but the bruises were nothing but greenish smudges. Her throat was still a littlepurple and when she lifted up the hem of her tunic, she saw that her ribs were almost black. Her injuries had been throbbing dully since she got them, but over time she had just gotten used to the constant pain. Katie pulled her bangs out of her eyes so that she could see her whole face. It was still just too bizarre to think about Zerita's portrait. Finally she pulled herself away from the mirror and began sorting through some shoes in the closet. She found a pair of boots that were a lot like Zuko's and tried them on.

"Wow, these are hot." She muttered to herself as she twisted her ankle back and forth. The boots fit pretty well, walking in them was much easier and much more comfortable then when she had borrowed Zuko's which had been three sizes to big. Katie walked back to the mirror and twisted herself around so that she could get a good idea of what she looked like in the tunic and pants she was wearing. The shirt hugged her body loosely and the pants poofed out like marshmallows. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't dare walk out in public in these, but everyone here wore marshmallow pants. Along with the boots she almost looked like a bonofide firebender. Katie twisted so she could see her butt. At least it didn't look too bad in these pants. She was pulled from her musings by a small cough from her doorway.

"Miss Katie?" Katie whipped around to see Marius staring at her.

"Yeah?" She asked blushing slightly at being caught inspecting her own backside.

"I hear that you and prince Zuko are leaving today."

"Yes, we are."

"Don't go with him."

"What?"

"Don't go with him. I fear for your safety when I see you with him. I know you felt sorry for him and it has blinded you until you believe you actually have feelings for him. But you don't know the prince as I do. He's a born killer. He will never feel anything for you but lust. Miss Katie, if you go with him, he will hurt you. I can guarantee this." Katie stared at Marius with a mixture of amazement and disgust.

"What makes you think you know anything about him? You haven't seen him in over ten years."

"I know what I've heard. I've also seen how he looks at you. He has used his serpent eyes to blind you and when he's done with you, he will kill you." Katie looked into Marius' pale brown eyes. They were intense to the point that he almost looked insane. He walked closer to her and she took an involuntary step back, running right into the bedside table. "You should stay here with me. I will keep you safe and we will be so happy together miss Katie, you will see."

"Marius, I'm leaving today with Zuko." Katie said as firmly as she could. Marius looked at her sadly then grabbed her wrists. "Marius, what are you doing?" Katie asked, fear welling up inside her.

"No miss Katie. I'm not going to let you go." Katie let out a small cry of fear and surprise. She tried wrenching her hands from his grasp, but it was no use.

"ZUKO! ZUKO HELP!" She yelled, but she knew it was all in vain, the walls and doors separating them were too thick to be heard through. Katie began struggling harder, trying to get in a position where she could kick her way free. But Marius anticipated this and shoved her against the wall. He pinned her legs with one thigh and glared at her.

"Why are you struggling? You should be honored to be the target of my affection."

"ZUKO!"

"He will only lead you to suffering, miss Katie. Try to understand. You belong here with me." He leaned forward and whispered the last part. Katie smashed his nose with her forehead. Marius let go of her wrists with a howl. Katie brought her elbows up and slammed them down as hard as she could on either side of his shoulders at the base of his neck. As he lost his balance she brought her knee up into his guts and scrambled away from him. Katie ran to the bedroom door. Marius had locked it, and it took several seconds to get it undone. Just as she reached for the handle she heard a sound like a bug flying through the air andfelt something hit her arm, knocking her off balance. A pain seared through the arm and she felt something warm and wet begin traveling down to her wrist. Katie looked down in confusion at her bicep. Protruding from it was the gilded hilt of a dagger. The entire blade was buried deep into the muscle; she could see the shiny tip sticking out the other side. The dagger had gone completely through her arm! Katie glanced over at Marius in horror. He was climbing to his feet, rage etched in his face as he lunged towards her. Katie yanked the door open and ran out in to the hall, blood was now flowing freely from her arm.

"Miss Lin? Good Agni! What happened?" It was one of Zuko's uncles.

"Please, help me! Marius attacked me." She collapsed gratefully into the kind man's arms and pointed back to her room. Marius had just stumbled out and froze at the sight of his uncle. Blood was streaming from his broken nose.

"Marius?" He asked incredulously.

"Don't listen to her uncle. She led me here under false pretences and attacked me. I was only defending myself."

"You dirty son of a-"

"What in the blazes is going on out here?" They all turned to see Shinja walk out of a room followed closely by Zuko. All the blood drained from his face when he saw the dagger hilt in Katie's arm.

"He tried to kill me!" Katie shrieked pointing at Marius.

"She told me to meet her in her room and then tried to take advantage of me-!"

"Holy freak, you can't be serious!" Katie yelled.

"She began beating me when I didn't comply! I was merely defending myself and my honor." Katie was shaking from rage. She wanted to hurt Marius so badly right now, but Zuko beat her to it. He launched himself at his cousin, knocking him to the ground and began punching him repeatedly in the face. Steam was flowing from his mouth and there was fire in his eyes. Their uncle jumped in and tried to pull Zuko away but let out a cry of pain as the heat seared his hands on contact. Several other men arrived, drawn by the racket, and between them they finally managed to pull Zuko away. Marius lay motionless on the ground; his face was unrecognizable. Zuko struggled in his relative's grasps, trying to finish what he started.

"Come Katie. We must tend to your arm." Shinja whispered, pulling gently on her uninjured hand. Katie glanced at the dagger hilt as though she had never seen it before. Without thinking, she wrapped her hand around it a pulled it out. There was a collective gasp from some of the women that had gathered behind them. But Katie felt numb and she was shaking like crazy. She didn't think she was in shock, but didn't want to risk it. She began taking deep, long; steady breaths as Shinja led Katie to her own room. Shinja motioned for Katie to lie down on a couch against the wall. She did so, propping her feet up on a pillow and watched Shinja bustle around gathering bandages and other things from a cupboard. One of Shinja's daughters entered carrying a basin of warm water. Shinja pulled a stool next to the couch and began cutting away the blood-soaked sleeve of Katie's tunic.

"Hm, you should have waited and let me pull it out." Shinja said disapprovingly as she inspected the damage. "While I'm doing this, would you mind clearing things up about what happened just now?" Katie watched in half a daze as Shinja cleaned away the blood. She then pulled out a needle and some thick, catgut thread. Katie forced herself to look away when the sewing of her flesh began. Stab her, beat her, but don't come near her with needles. The whole time she recounted her story of Marius entering her room. Halfway through, she couldn't hold it back anymore and began sobbing. Shinja's daughter did the best she could to comfort Katie and Shinja returned to her cupboard. She came back caryying a strange splint. It fit right below Katie's armpit and traveled the whole length of her arm ending in a strange kind of handle.

"Squeeze it tightly dove." Shinja said shortly and began strapping Katie's arm to the splint. Katie squeezed the handle as hard as she could, but the strength in that arm seemed to have been sapped away leaving a burning pain. "I always knew there was something wrong with that boy. I just never figured he would do something like this. I'm very sorry about everything dove." Shinja said quietly.

"So you believe me?" Katie asked, trying to hold back a new waterfall of tears.

"Of course I do. Do you think I'm blind as well as senile? Marius may be pretty, but he's a twit. I've seen the way you and the young prince together and know you wouldn't have done what Marius has accused you of." Katie smiled at her thankfully and hiccupped.

"So, what's going to happen to him now?"

"I'm afraid that's not for me to decide. His parents are responsible for him and he has them eating out of the palm of his hand so there probably won't be any punishment. I do know one thing though. After his display I don't want him on my property where he could hurt one of my grandchildren." She finished off the bandage and tied it expertly. "Now, I don't want you taking that off or getting it wet. Have Iroh look at it when you get to the ship, him or his doctor will know how to take out the stitches when it has healed enough." Katie nodded and Zuko took the opportunity to burst in through the door. He seemed to have finally gotten control over his anger and it was now replaced with anxiety.

"Are you alright?" he demanded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Katie said sitting up carefully. She felt her head spin and blackness began clouding her vision. She swallowed away the vertigo and gave Zuko a smile to prove that she was all right. Zuko sat next to her and took her good hand.

"Maybe we should stay here for another day or two…"

"No!" Katie said a little more loudly than she meant to. She shot an apologetic glance at Shinja, Katie just didn't want to risk another attempt from Marius. "Iroh is waiting for us. I swear I'll be fine." Zuko searched her eyes; he could see how scared she was about staying here.

"Alright. I'll go get the rhinos ready."

"Again, I am so sorry that this happened to you in my home." Shinja said clasping Katie's hand tightly.

"Things just seem to be happening to me wherever I go. It's not your fault." Katie said with a shrug. Shinja pulled her close and hugged her.

"You are so like her." Shinja whispered. Katie frowned slightly, she knew exactly who Shinja was talking about. Shija pulled away and reached into her sleeve. She pulled out the blue leather bound book and gave it to Katie. "I was surprised when you chose this book. It was hers you know. I want you to keep it with you always." Katie took the book and ran her thumb over the cover. She felt her stomach give an uneasy churn.

"We're ready to leave now aunt Shinja." Zuko said as he walked up beside them. Zuko leaned down and kissed Shinja's cheeks. Everyone from the house came out to say his or her goodbyes. Katie had only been here a few days but she felt regretful leaving these people. Especially the children who reminded her so much of her own nieces and nephews back home. She hugged each and every one of them tightly before Zuko helped her mount her rhino. She took one last look at the beautiful old house. She clicked her tongue and prodded her rhino with her heels. Gradually the house disappeared behind a bend. Katie was still clutching the blue book beneath her elbow. She let the rhino have its head opened the book once more, gazing at the Chinese characters.

"Hey Zuko?" he glanced back at her with a worried expression.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just wondering. Could you teach me how to read?" He gave her a confused look but nodded. Katie smiled at him and slipped the blue book into her saddlebag. Well, here we go.

Now is a time when I could really use ideas as to what to do next. Because I really have no clue. I'm probably gonnastew over it as I fall asleep, but if anybody wants to give me a noodge,I would really appreciate it. I'm also kinda tempted to just end this here and make it a two parter because there's something I kinda want to write, but it I think it would be rated M and I really don't want to up the rating for this in case it stops people from reading this first part. I don't know. Would all ya'll stop reading if I upped therating? I'm really confused. REVIEW PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF CHEESE AND GIVE ME YOUR GENIATIC ADVICE! (I just made up that word, it's kinda like 'genius'.)