"I took a walk down a road,
It's the road I was meant to stay.
I see the fire in your eyes,
But a man's got to make his way.
So are you tough enough for my love?"

"Coming Home"

muted fate, chapter XIV: "the crimson letter" or "our hedgehog's dilemma"

"It's late. You should rest,"

Katara looked towards the door to see Zuko was there. She nodded, "Yes, I should," She then smiled a little towards. "Seyvan is starting to breathe all right and the color is coming back into his face. I think he's going to be okay,"

"That's good," Zuko said. His response neither entirely happy or sad. Simply neutral towards the troublesome boy. He glanced at Katara's bed now occupied with Pepper, Ashes, and Seyvan's bodies, "but where do you plan on sleeping?"

Katara shrugged at this, "In my chair I guess,"

"The chair? All night long?" Zuko asked. He shook his head, "You can't do that," He then added, "And you shouldn't be on your feet so much either. You were walking around all day long,"

Katara was feeling very irritated – she hated being treated like she couldn't anything, "I can walk fine. I'm not completely helpless just because I'm pregnant. And anyway, I don't have anywhere else to go to sleep, now do I?"

"Well, there is–" He stopped and colored suddenly.

"What?"

Zuko turned away from her. He was embarrassed at what he was about to say, "Forget it. You wouldn't like it anyway,"

"Like what?"

"The idea,"

"What idea?"

"Well, it's…that…I…" He trailed off.

"What is it?"

"…my room…"

Katara couldn't help but stare at Zuko for even mentioning the idea. To be honest, she wasn't exactly sure how to react to the idea of sharing a bed with him. There was a friendship, or at least mutual respect between the two of them, but there was no actual attraction on a sexual level so it really shouldn't bother her. She had shared a bed with her brother Sokka before when they were travelling sometimes. On the other hand, she wasten years oldat the time and they were brother and sister.

However, she couldn't decide where to answer "yes" or "no".

"I told you it was a bad idea," Zuko answered.

Katara finally let out a sigh; "It's late. It's a been a long and stressful day. I'm very tired right now. I don't care if I sleep on the floor, in a chair, or in your bed right now. It'll only be for one night anyway. Let's just get it over with,"

Aang was feeling a little sleepy. He was probably worn out from all the action from earlier on. He needed somewhere to sleep. He decided that the deck would probably do the job – considering how he was just a walking corpse and really needed no comfort to sleep. He was about to head onto the deck when someone rapped him on the shoulder.

Aang turned around to see that it was Beelzebub dressed up in Fire Nation soldier clothes. He looked almost human since the outfit covered most of his body.

"Beelzebub!" Aang whispered to him, "What are you doing here?"

Beelzebub gave a smile, "Let's just say a friend lent Morningstar an' me deir clothes," He gave Aang a pat on the back. "C'mon! We found a room and everythin',"

"Hey you!" said a Fire Nation soldier to Beelzebub, "What are you doing fraternizing when you're supposed to be in the barracks?"

Beelzebub quickly smiled at the soldier, "I'm just talkin' to my…um…sister's kid here. Family, y'know?"

The Fire Nation soldier nodded, "Okay, but keep it brief. We've got a job to do!" The soldier then left.

"That was close," Beelzebub said, "Let me show you tah da room quickly 'fore we get into anymore trouble, kid,"

"I can't believe you managed to get on board,"

"Da sky's da limit when you're a demon,"

"I'm letting you know right now that if I feel anything touching me, I'll leave and sleep in the chair," Katara said to Zuko as she laid in bed next to him.

"What makes you think I'll attempt that?" Zuko said, "I'd be pretty idiotic on my part,"

"Exactly," Katara answered.

"Hey! I don't verbally abuse you on a daily basis!"

Katara couldn't help but smile, "But it's more fun with you,"

Zuko chortled and blew out the lamp and it was dark. Only the sound of the storm brewing outside and people murmuring in the hallways was the only noise. Even though they were sharing a room and a bed, there was great distance between the two. Katara was on one edge of the bed and Zuko on the other edge.

Although they were no longer hostile to each other, they was nothing to get them to get adjusted to the whole "touching each other even in the friendliest manner" part. In truth, they both seemed very neurotic about even touching each other a little bit unless it was for show and needed to be done. If it were in their own natural environments, they would each shrink away from handshakes, friendly hugs, and the like.

"Can I ask you something?" Zuko asked Katara.

"Sure," Katara said, "seeing how we're now too nervous to sleep right now,"

Zuko looked at her; "Do you remember anything about…that night…"

Katara sighed and rolled over to face Zuko. Now they were facing each other.

"Not very much really…" Katara said, "I remember waking up briefly and seeing…someone…maybe it was you, I can't remember that well now…and I remember sleeping and there being something on top of me. I felt that and I felt a brief pain and then I went on sleeping,"

"I don't remember much either. I do remember pain too and I felt…I don't know how to describe it…awkward after it. As if I had been trying to walk on ice but I kept falling down,"

Katara paused, "What are going to do now?"

Zuko shrugged, "I can't go back home. You're going to have a baby. Pepper, Ashes, and Seyvan might as well be considered our children now since they have no other family. And I really don't like the idea of you being on the ship. What happens if there's an accident? There's no way you can swim and having you on some small boat isn't my idea of you being safe,"

Katara nodded. "We should try to settle somewhere. Like a island and let me have the baby there,"

Zuko paused, "That sounds like a good idea and it's our only option, really,"

Katara let out a long breath, "…yeah…"

"Something's bothering you," Zuko said.

Katara got a little bit closer to Zuko, "I'm worried about the baby. I've always heard stories of how babies of mixed Bender blood are defectives and die or they're still–"

"Shhh. Don't think about that," Zuko said and he wrapped his arm around her. Katara laid her head on his chest, "Try to think about how beautiful the child is going to be,"

Katara nodded and soon they both fell asleep.

The crew barracks were very small and it was two bunk beds per room, which took up most of the space. Aang had the bottom bed while Iwatansei rested his ghostly body on the top one. Morningstar only had to spend a few minuets looking out the window to see the storm occurring to get very seasick and spent the rest of the night with the cover over his head.

"Somethin' wrong kid?" Beelzebub asked Aang.

Aang had been staring up into nothing with his head rested on the pillow, "It's nothing," came his answer and he rolled over and faced away from Beelzebub and did his very best to sleep.

Morning light shined on Katara's face. She stirred in her sleep to find Zuko's arm was strewn across her. She rolled over onto her other side to find that the bulge in her stomach had increased a little bit more and found it even more difficult to turn over or sit up. She had to adjust the way she moved in order to sit up. Her balance seemed entirely thrown off. On top of this, she was intensely hungry. As soon as she sat up in bed and Zuko stirred awake.

"Up already?" Zuko asked.

"Yes," Katara said. She smiled at him, "You still look exhausted,"

"I sleep normally until later but I'm a light sleeper and you woke me up," Zuko answered.

"Not used to sharing a bed with someone, are you?" Katara asked with a tiny smirk.

"Don't start–"

The door opened and Katara quickly hid under the covers, hoping that no one would get the wrong idea if they saw Zuko and her sleeping in the same bed. Zuko looked towards the door and Pepper entered the room.

"Pepper, will you please knock on the door before you come if it's closed?" Zuko sighed.

"Why?" Pepper said.

"Because I could be doing something," Zuko said. He then flushed and added, "I mean...I could be…in a…meeting…with…a person…"

"Okay then," Pepper said, "but Seyvan woke up,"

"Seyvan's awake?" Katara said, getting up from under the cover.

Pepper nodded. She the led Zuko and Katara to the next room. Seyvan was sitting up in bed. He looked at Katara and Zuko – the fierceness gone out of his eyes.

"I'm…sorry," Seyvan choked.

Aang found that not only having to feed on rats was disgusting on multiple levels, but didn't stop his hunger from quickly returning. He could tell that even though Morningstar and Beelzebub had both fed, they were still hungry.

"Hopefully," Morningstar stated, "we won't be on this ship for too long," He had recovered from sea sickness an hour ago after feeding.

"Beelzebub, there has to be another way for us to feed," Aang said.

Beelzebub paused, "We need either people o' animals. Though I did hear raw meat may work sometime, but dat may just be a rumor. We may as well stick wit rodents since eatin' people would cause problems since it's a ship 'n ev'rybody seems tah know ev'rybody. If people suddenly go missin', dey start askin' questions,"

"There can't be enough rats to feed us all," Morningstar said.

"We'll just have to ration ourselves," Beelzebub said, "One rat per every two days or one rat split for each of us per day,"

"A single meal?" Aang asked, remembering his exhaustion when he went without for a long period of time.

"It'll have tah do fer now," Beelzebub said, "We doan really have dat many options available tah us, but we gotta be careful. If a demon goes too long wit'out feedin', it can get pretty nasty. Da instincts take over 'n anythin' is a target fer blood,"

Aang sighed and laid back down onto his bed. Things like this often made him wish he had reconsidered becoming a demon.

Seyvan's hair was long and stringy, glistened with sweat. His eyes were downcast and sad looking.

"Can I speak to you alone?" Seyvan asked Zuko. Zuko was a little bit surprised by Seyvan's request. This would be the first time the boy had spoken to him in a non-hostile tone. Zuko simply nodded and Katara took Pepper and Ashes from the room, and closed the door.

"You seem very talkative all of a sudden," Zuko said to Seyvan.

"I've had time to…think," Seyvan answered.

Zuko studied Seyvan's face for a moment. 'He has to be only a few years behind me,' he thought. While Seyvan was still feral, Zuko had never really the chance to notice the boy was actually at the age of impending maturity. Zuko then remembered the crone at the shack and asked, "What happened in the house?"

"I really don't…" Seyvan began, "…I really don't know…I…" He trailed off.

Zuko could sense the boy was hiding something, "…Seyvan?"

"I was sick when everything was happening. I might have been hallucinating while I was in the house. Everything is mostly a blur when we got off the ship and I was suddenly back here," Seyvan said, "But I know for a fact that woman back there wasn't my grandmother. She was…somebody…something else pretending to be her. My grandmother is dead actually…I don't have any family left really…"

This news didn't truly surprise Zuko the slightest. He had actually heard rumors of people posing as children's parents and then later selling them off to labor camps to harvest crops or make clothing for the upper class or as slaves or servants. Most of these children were actually orphans. Yet, another thing still bothered Zuko about Seyvan.

"I have always wanted to know," Zuko said, "You always seemed to hate the Fire Nation and Firebenders because of what happened to your family but I think it was something else,"

"To be honest, it was," Seyvan answered, truthfully, "But I guess I should start from the beginning. I lived with my father and two sisters. My mother after giving birth to me. My father…blamed me for her death. Sometimes my grandmother, who lived on Hishigata Island, would come to the house and take care of my sisters, but she'd blame me too. Everyone blamed me for her my mother. Every night I would go to bed covered in bruises and leave the house with black eyes and an aching body. But I bottled up my troubles,"

Zuko paused, "…your father hit you?"

"Everyone hit me. They all hated me. My father because of his loss of a wife. My sisters because of their loss of a mother. My grandmother because of her loss of a daughter. They didn't see me as a son, or brother, or grandson. I was a murderer. I killed someone they all loved and they punished me in their own way as much as humanely possible for them. I was beaten, kicked, starved, locked in closets, locked in the attic, locked in rooms, locked outside my own home in the bitterest winter, and into the cellar with no light or heat. They wanted her back and instead they had me. I was a nuisance. I was hopeless. I wasn't intelligent, or strong, or a child prodigy – I was an ignorant little peasant boy who couldn't understand why he was being hated and wondered why there was no one to protect him from his own family,"

Seyvan stopped at this point but Zuko said, "What happened?"

Seyvan shrugged, "I snapped eventually. I cracked under the pressure. I couldn't take it anymore. I attacked one of the village boys who picked on me and all that pent up abuse in me unleashed itself. I think I might have killed him. There was a lot of blood everywhere after I was through. I was scared after what I had done and I hid in the cellar and blocked the doorway behind me so that no one could open it. It was iron, so I knew I would be safe. I thought my family would kill me. I thought I would be hung. I thought the worse…and the worse came,"

Seyvan paused for a moment. His breathed in deeply as the memory of what occurred to him slowly came back to him in all its horror, "I later found out from my friends that Ashes' father had been undergoing business with the Fire Nation and was getting a lot of money from them, but he had been cheating them. When the local lord found out he was being cheated on the bargain, he sent for an army to burn our section of the town, where Ashes' father lived, as punishment.

"During this time, I had been hiding the cellar. I survived by eating some of the food that was stored down there for winter. It was cool so things were preserved very well. I kept warm by making small fires. It was a happy existence for me. No one hurt me and I was happy. I spent two days down there and nobody looked for me. Then one night, the Fire Nation army attacked. It was a stealth attack and no one really knew what was happening until later. I didn't know what was happening until I heard the screams from outside the cellar door. I went to the door and…and I could hear my family yelling in pain as they were being burned alive – eaten whole by the greedy flames. I could hear my sisters scratching frantically at the cellar door – trying to get inside and away from the heat. I tried to open the door but the heat made the iron too hot and I couldn't open it. They were trapped and I was trapped. There was nothing I could do for them. I was helpless,"

He choked and coughed, and began shedding tears, "I could only sit there and listen as my family burned to death and I couldn't even rescue them . Their screams lasted for hours and hours until…silence. Complete and horrifying silence. Half the day passed before the iron cooled and I opened the door…and…and they were all burned to a crisp. I could barely recognize any of them. It was all horrible. I knew my family hated me, but they were all I had. I didn't wish their deaths. I blamed the Fire Nation bitterly for their loss and I held this bitterness with me. I kept it close by my heart. The anger and refusal to forgive that should have been turned against my family was now against the Fire Nation,"

Seyvan paused and looked at Zuko, "But I can see the error in my way now. You were just trying to help me. You and your wife. I…I'm…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Seyvan looked in Zuko's eyes at this point. "Will you forgive me? Will you please forgive me? I…I'll…understand if you refuse…I know I was a horrible kid…"

Zuko paused. He had a sudden memory of when he himself had begged for forgiveness once from a higher authority and it was refused in the harshest way. Seyvan saw his hardened face towards him and turned away from Zuko. He then felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I forgive you, Seyvan," Zuko said.

Seyvan's eyes were filled with years and he hugged Zuko around the waist.

'What is this? 'Let crying children hug me' day?' Zuko thought. He then tried to pry Seyvan off of his waist, "Okay, Seyvan, stop crying now.Your tears aresoaking my clothes,"

Seyvan let go of Zuko, "I'm sorry. It's just that I'm so happy…" He then added. "But I don't have any family left. Does that mean I'm going to stay with you and your wife?"

Zuko rolled his eyes, "Yes, and while you're at it you may as well call me 'dad',"

"Really?"

Zuko suddenly realized Seyvan didn't see the underlying sarcasm in his statement and whirled around, "No! Not seriously! I was just kidding!" Seyvan looked crushed at hearing this. Zuko grumbled. 'Gods, did all these kids learn the sad puppy dog eyes from each other?' Zuko thought. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "Listen, Seyvan, I can't be your father because I'm only sixteen and you're…how old are you again?"

"Well I think I'm twelve and three quarters," Seyvan answered, "but I think my birthday happened a few days ago, cause…I don't know…I feel older. I might be thirteen,"

That made things a little more complicated, "Seyvan, you're thirteen and I'm sixteen. Having you as my son would probably me a little…strange. You'd probably be better as my younger brother,"

"But I look young enough to be your son and you can always tell people you adopted me,"

'You don't look young for long when you're thirteen, Seyvan,' Zuko thought, though he wanted to say it to him, 'I can tell you're only asome monthsor so away from maturing,'

"Let me talk about it with my wife," Zuko answered, as he approached the door.

"Can I come?" Seyvan asked.

"No, you stay in bed," Zuko said, "You were just poisoned and dying yesterday, so I figure you should get a little rest,"

"Fine," Seyvan said, and he curled up in bed and went to sleep.

Katara was up on the deck with Pepper and Ashes. She decided that having the girls out in the sunlight for a little while would cheer them up since the previous day had been a little sad and stressful. Eventually, Katara found that she couldn't stay on her feet much longer (probably because she had been walking all day) and had to find a place to sit. She found the deck floor was fine – since sitting in chairs and on beds all the time got boring after a while.

"Miss," Pepper suddenly asked Katara, "what's going to happen to us?"

Katara looked at Pepper, "What do you mean, Pepper?"

"Who's going to take care of me and Ashes and Seyvan since we don't got any family?" Pepper asked.

Katara couldn't help but hug the little girl. She was sometimes too adorable to bear, "We will, Pepper! We'll take care of all of you, just like before,"

Pepper paused, "…does this mean you'll be our mother, Miss?"

Katara hesitated a little at saying yes to this. 'Pepper has to be about eleven or twelve. She's actually old enough to be my little sister,' Katara thought, 'But they do need a family…' She then smiled at Pepper, "Yes, Pepper. You, Ashes, and Seyvan can all call me 'mother' if you like,"

Pepper's eyes seemed to widened and she hugged Katara. Ashes, who had been sitting beside Katara the whole time, suddenly stirred and looked towards Katara.

"Yes, Ashes, you too," Katara said, hugging the mute little girl. Ashes didn't make any reply.

"Am I interrupting something?" Zuko asked Katara.

Katara looked up at him, "Actually, yes,"

"I can I call you 'Dad'?" Pepper asked Zuko.

Zuko paused and looked at Pepper and then looked at Katara. He then sighed.

"Pepper, will you take Ashes and go play somewhere?" Zuko asked.

"Okay!" Pepper said and took Ashes to play on the other side of the deck.

As soon as Pepper and Ashes were out of hearing distance, Zuko fumed at Katara.

"Damn it, Katara! Did you tell them we're going to adopt them?" Zuko asked.

"What are you so angry about? Of course I did!" Katara answered, "I might as well tell them now – they really don't have anywhere else to go, do they?"

"They're old enough to be brother and sisters!"

Katara shrugged at this, "So? Almost everyone knows they're probably adopted guessing by their ages. It's no big secret. People adopt children all the time,"

"Katara, are you forgetting one crucial detail – that I'msixteen years old and have no idea on how to raise children,"

Katara stood up and looked Zuko in the eye, "What's to know? They already like you and me. All there is to parenting is love and logic, or that's what my grandmother used to always say about it," She smiled. "I'm sure we'll be happy and in the end, that's all that really matters, isn't it?"

A shadow fell over the deck and Zuko froze at seeing it.

"An eclipse?" Katara asked. She too had noticed the sudden darkness.

"No," Zuko said bitterly as he looked up, "Zhao's ship,"

Zhao's ship had come up right alongside them – blocking the warm sunlight. Pepper and Ashes instantly went beside Zuko and Katara as soon as the ship approached, not knowing what to expect.

"What do we do?" Katara whispered to Zuko.

"Nothing. Zhao rarely comes to me like this unless he has some bragging to do," Zuko whispered back.

A plank came from the larger ship and plunked down onto the deck of their own ship. Zhao and some of his men came down the plank and stepped onto Zuko's ship.

"Commander Zhao," Zuko said, through his clenched teeth, "to what do we owe the honor of your unexpected visit?"

"That's Fleet Admiral Zhao," Zhao answered with a toothy smile, "Your father promoted me,"

"My congratulations," Zuko said, "but what are you doing here?"

"I'm simply playing messenger," Zhao said in reply, "How about we discuss this in a more private area?"

"I'm sorry but it's unsafe below deck for strangers," Zuko answered, "My son has been ill and it's highly contagious. We just got over it,"

"A son I see," Zhao said. He glanced at Pepper and Ashes. Pepper hid more and more behind Zuko. Ashes held on tighter to Katara, "and two little girls. Well, I suppose this shouldn't surprise you then,"

Zhao handed Zuko a letter dyed dark red with a wax seal in the shape of a flame on it. Zuko's eyes widened at the letter and he stared at it. He quickly took the letter and looked at it, as if it was a note dictating his death. Zhao saw his nervous face.

"Have fun with it," Zhao said to him, smirking. He then boarded his ship and the ship left.

"At least it was a bit better than the last visit we had with him," Katara said, "and shorter too," She then looked at Zuko. "What's wrong?"

Zuko looked at the letter and started to walk away, "Take care of the children. I'll be talking with Uncle a while…a long while…"

Katara was left clueless about the letter. Zuko found Uncle in the captain's room playing a Pai-Sho with one of the crew members.

"Hello there, Prince Zuko," Uncle said. He then looked at Zuko's grave face, "What's wrong? You look like you've just met death face to face,"

Zuko showed Uncle the crimson letter. As soon as Uncle saw the letter, he cancelled the game, got rid of the crewmen, and locked the doors so that no one could enter the room. Uncle sat across from Zuko at the table he was playing Pai-Sho on. The crimson letter sat on the table between them.

"So, your father finally has wished to speak with you," Uncle said, "but I would have imagined you being overjoyed at hearing from him. Yet, Prince Zuko, you look nervous,"

"A lot has happened in the last month," Zuko said, "Katara and I actually talked about settling for a while, or at least until she had the baby,"

"So this ruins your plans?" Uncle said.

Zuko sighed, "That's the problem. I don't know if it will. I'm convinced Zhao told my father about Katara and me. Knowing my father, he'll probably disown me forever. I was…I was actually happy without having to chase the Avatar or worry about going home again. Now I have to go home only to hear about his anger towards the both of us,"

"You will not know what your father has decided until you read the letter," Uncle answered.

Zuko paused and looked at the letter. The scarred area of his face itched as he glanced at the letter – the symbol of all things from the Fire Nation and his father. He gripped the letter and opened it, pulling out what the parchment inside. Zuko opened the letter and then closed it back, putting it back into the envelope.

"What does it say?" Uncle asked.

"A lot," was Zuko's answer. He got up and headed towards the door, "I need time to think. I'll be in my room. No disruptions,"

Uncle saw Zuko leave. After he was gone, he himself looked at what the letter had stated and he too, after reading it, felt just as perplexed as Zuko.

Aang sat up in bed. Beelzebub was looking at the scar on his arm from the battle with The Shadow. Morningstar looked over towards him in curiosity.

"What does it say?" Aang said to Beelzebub as he was looking at the scar.

"It's a bindin' spell fer a summoned spirit – probably made fer The Shadow considerin' 'ow I got it from 'im," Beelzebub said, "It's a bit 'ard tah read, but so far I manadged tah get one part translated: 'And thou shalt have no harm done upon by veesel, by her sire, by her child or children previous, by babe, by thou master, or master's servant by thine own hands.'"

"The Shadow can't harm Katara?" Aang asked.

"Not directly," Iwatansei said, "nor can he harm her sire, her children, the Avatar in her body, the man who summoned him, or his servants,"

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Aang said, "The Shadow is all against the Avatar living, so why would he agree to having a binding on him that keeps him from harming her?"

"I'll see if I can translate some more," Beelzebub said.

Katara saw Zuko going down the hallway and she approached him.

"Zuko," Katara said to him.

Zuko looked at her briefly and then continued walking, "Hello, Katara,"

Katara followed him, "What's wrong? You're acting funny,"

Zuko walked into his room and looked at Katara, "Shut the door," Zuko sat on the bed and Katara shut the door. "Where's Pepper and the others?"

"Keeping Seyvan company while he's still in bed," Katara said, "I was going to the kitchen,"

"Then let's whisper," Zuko said in a hushed tone, "I don't want them hearing us if they're in the next room,"

Katara sat next to Zuko on the bed.

"I got a letter from my father," Zuko said.

"Yes? What's so bad about that?" Katara asked.

Zuko paused, "I suppose you haven't heard about the situation I'm in with him, have you?"

In truth, Katara had actually heard bits and pieces of it from gossip and the loose tongues of crewman. She had never directly asked since it seemed like a touchy subject. So, Katara shook her head in reply. Zuko quickly explained to her.

"Oh…" Katara said, "I see…"

"Now you see why I'm like this," Zuko said, "I can't really understand why that after all this time he would…" He paused.

"What did the letter say?"

Beelzebub finished translating the other part of the inscription, "'Let thou know and obey thine master and lord of the empire of fire and let him pay homage to them in his acts of the empire.'"

'The Empire of Fire?' Iwatansei asked.

"Fire Nation – it has to be," Aang said, "So someone from the Fire Nation must have summoned him," He clenched his teeth. "Damn it all! They'd do anything for power!"

Beelzebub scanned the last part of the inscription, "Hold on, there's one more part I can make out…"

"It…" Zuko said. He sighed and looked at Katara. "It really had nothing to truly do with you, Katara. If I were you, I'd leave it alone. What happens between my family and I doesn't truly concern you. There's a lot of…differences…between how you and your family interact and my family and I interact,"

Katara looked at him and made a face, "Zuko, you must be joking with me! Sure, I may not know anything about how noble families work but I'm still a part of your family, and so the baby! So don't try to leave me out of anything involving you!"

Zuko wasn't a little surprised by her strong reaction. He then kissed her on the lips.

"Ahah! Here we go!" Beelzebub said as he looked at his arm, "Dis last part is a little bit more cryptic dan da other two,"

"What does it say?" Aang asked. Iwatansei, Morningstar, and him gathered around Beelzebub.

"It says…" Beelzebub paused as he began to slowly translate. "'Let this shadow of his mortal self watch over the vessel and deliver her and her sire into the hands of our great lord of the flame empire. All this done shall have this lost soul found once again to his bones.'"

"The Shadow is going to give Katara over to The Fire Lord!" Aang gasped.

Iwatansei was musing over something else, "…'this lost soul found once again to his bones'…" he then spoke to Aang, Beelzebub, and Morningstar. "I think The Shadow is a little stranger than we all think he is, my friends,"

Katara was shocked by the sudden kiss. Zuko then held onto her and whispered to her.

"Even though it may not be true, I still think of you as my wife, Katara," Zuko whispered to her, "and I want to protect you and the baby from harm,"

Katara didn't know what to say, but she held onto him as well. Finally, Zuko spoke again.

"I've been forgiven," Zuko said.

Katara looked at him, "…what?"

Zuko sighed, "I've been forgiven by my father. He wants me to return back to the Fire Nation immediately…with you,"

Katara's eyes widened at the news, but Zuko wasn't done yet.

"And he wants to meet you," Zuko said, "He knows about the baby,"

Now it all became crystal clear to Katara – like a cloud lifted away to reveal the unseen bottom of a well. Zuko wasn't worried about himself or the fear of returning home – Oh no, it was more than that. It was far worse than that. – but her own personal safety as well. The mere thought of being faced with Fire Lord Ozai – king of the Fire Nation – sent an arctic chill down Katara's spine.

"Y-you mean...we…we have to go see…" Katara began. She could barely speak from under the immense weight of the news.

Zuko nodded. He looked pale and rubbed the back of his head, "Yes – we have to go see my father…Fire Lord Ozai – lord of all the Fire Nation," He swallowed hard. IT seemed like ages since he had mentioned the name out loud.

Katara felt another shiver down her spine. When she thought of Fire Lord Ozai, she thought of his cruelty, his power and his determination to conquer. She then looked at Zuko's face to see that he was nervous as well.

"What are you miserable about?" Katara asked him, "From what you told me, you would have been happy to go home. Isn't that why you had been chasing the Avatar from before. What's wrong?"

"Everything," Zuko said, laying onto his back, looking stressed, "I was happier not having to worry about returning home or chasing the Avatar. For once in my life, it felt like I was free from hi and now…and now it feels like he's dragging me back under. He doesn't even call me his son. There's no warmth. There's no love. He just wants me to return there with you for whatever purpose he has in his mind," He shrugged. "For all I know, he could be dying all he needs is a quickly heir to manipulate in his last days. I'm a tool – not a son,"

Katara paused and then laid her head on his chest.

"But you're not alone anymore, though," Katara said, "You have Pepper, Seyvan, Ashes, and Uncle. You have people who love you. And most of all, you have the baby and you have me and that's something your own and your father can never have,"

She kissed him on the lips. Zuko could feel himself smile a little – mostly in a "I-don't-really-know-what-to-say-right-now-so-I'm-going-to-smile" smile. Katara smiled back at him in the same way.

"I should probably go right now," Katara said, "and see how Seyvan is doing,"

"I haven't heard anything from him," Zuko said, "and he's in the next room,"

"That's what I'm worried about," Katara said, "When I was a kid, I always used to listen to my parents talk in the next room," She then yelled at the wall. "Are any of you listening to us in here?"

"No," came Pepper and Seyvan's voice.

"I see your point," Zuko said. He got off the bed, which was easier for him but harder for Katara, who suddenly began to feel off balance. "Do you need some help getting up, Katara?"

"No! I do it!" Katara said. After several futile attempts she groaned, "Okay, help me up," Zuko helped her stand. "I don't get it. I'm suddenly have trouble keeping my balance,"

"Probably just the baby getting bigger," Zuko answered as he helped her out the room.

Aang let his wings slide out of his body and stretch them since they had been cooped up. He gave them a strong shake as he stood up.

"Watch it!" Morningstar said as feathers fell all over.

"Sorry," Aang said as he folded the wings back into his body. He walked over to the door, "I'm going topside for some fresh air,"

"Kid, there's somethin' I've been meanin' tah tell ya," Beelzebub said. He walked over to Aang, "Kid, I was listenin' tah some o' da other soldiers 'n dey were sayin' how dat girl dere is a wife to a nobleblood Fire Nation prince,"

Aang blinked, "…so?"

"Kid – no offense but – how dumb are ya? Listen, kid, I know ya like dis girl but ya can't go battin' ya eyelashes at her 'n stuff o' her husband could 'ave ya killed! It'd be a big insult tah 'is pride! He's got noble blood 'n if ya screw wit his wife – no puns intended dere – he'll got every right to kill ya! Got it?"

Aang nodded, "Yeah…I got it. I'll be fine," He then left the room.

'A warning is futile, demon,' Iwatansei said to Beelzebub, 'That Young Demon is prone to all sorts of trouble,'

"I know," Beelzebub said, "but he's gotta learn how tah mask his emotions o' he's gonna get hurt! It's a dangerous world out here. He's still a kid. He doesn't know how evil da world can be to him,"

"He'll grown out of it," Morning star said. He got off of the bed and draped his arms around Beelzebub, holding him close. "We all eventually do. It's a coming of age thing,"

'Except he died before he came of age,' Iwatansei said.

Beelzebub said nothing in reply.

It was late at night. Pepper, Ashes, and Seyvan were all asleep – worn out from the long day. Zuko was asleep, still nervous about what was to come from visiting his father once again. Katara fared far worse. After Zuko had talked to the ship navigator about the changes in where the ship was headed, Katara began to feel ill. She tore away from a gory nightmare, drenched in her own sweat, and then was sick on the bed sheet. Zuko himself was having his own unpleasant dreams but wasn't reacting as badly as Katara was.

"I'll…go get the ship doctor," Zuko breathed as he got out of the bed and went into the hallway. He sighed – rubbing his temples to get rid of a headache he could feel was coming on. He went to go get the ship doctor and let him deal with Katara. He stayed outside the room.

"You should probably be in there with her,"

Zuko looked to see Uncle standing in front of him. He then sighed, "I don't think so. I'm the reason why she's so sick now," He sighed. "It's all my fault,"

"How so?" Uncle asked.

"We're struck between a rock and a hard place," Zuko said, "We have to go to the Fire Nation and meet my father – which makes both of us very unhappy – or we could try to hide and I'm sure my father would come after us," He looked at Uncle. "I may not fully understand my father sometimes, but I know his habits. If we tried to run, he'd come after us. This is the easier way to go in the long run,"

Uncle smiled at Zuko, "You and her are having a hedgehog's dilemma. You know about the hedgehog's dilemma, don't you, Prince Zuko?"

"Of course. It's a children's fairytale," Zuko answered, "Two hedgehogs fall in love but they hurt each other when they try to touch because of their quills. But if hedgehogs were afraid to touch, they'd all die out. So they have to bear the pain of touching if they want to survive," He then sighed. "Don't say anything, Uncle. I'll go in,"

Uncle just smiled. Zuko entered the room to just witness Katara getting sick in basin the ship doctor supplied her with. The ship doctor was just leaving as Zuko.

"It was just nausea – nothing serious," the ship doctor said to Zuko, "All she needs is a bit of rest," He then added. "And I do suggest you get some new bed sheets,"

"Great," Zuko groaned. The ship doctor left the room. Katara took a swing of water from a glass and spat into the basin. She looked at Zuko.

"Sorry about your bed," Katara said to him.

"It's okay," Zuko said. He reached into a closet and pulled out some fresh sheets, "We all get sick eventually and anyway, I suspected you'd get sick again,"

Zuko laid down in bed next to Katara, "Tomorrow we start heading for the Fire Nation. Are you ready?"

Katara smiled at him, "Ready as I'll ever be,"

Zuko smiled and couldn't help but kiss her on the forehead, "You're more brave than I am," and then he turned off the light.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Hedgehog's Dilemma – most well known in the anime Shinseiki Evangelion, this is actually a psychological term. It's the idea that when two individuals become close, they hurt each other – either purposely or by accident – ZeroSoul