Soon, word spread that the Huzon Fever had broken out after lying dormant for three years. Guards found excuses to leave the compounds for fear of contracting it. Benders who hadn't got it suddenly thought they had. Word came from Ji Li that all work was to be halted until this fever had gone. Rumors were circulating that Ji Li himself had gotten it.

Even though Katara couldn't cure fevers, she had an unrivaled knowledge of healing herbs, even ones native to the Fire Nation. Whenever anyone came down with the fever, she was called for. Usually, she had to improvise the herbs, but Kyru could occasionally get the right herbs on his trips to the town.

"Katara!" A voice called from outside the hovel. The Waterbender, who had been ready to settle in, sighed as she got up.

"Yes?" A distraught Li Se was at the entrance.

"It's Si Le! She got that stupid fever! Can you help her?" Li Se was in sobs.

Katara patted Li Se's shoulder. "I'll try. How long ago did she show signs of it?"

"Ten minutes ago. She was turning paler and nearly passed out. That's when I came to get you." Katara nodded and grabbed the herbal satchel Kyru had made.

Zuko, who had been sitting by, got up. "Katara, you've been healing people all day," he said. "Even a Firebenders can't do that all day and night."

"I'm fine, Zuko." As she left, Zuko laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm coming with you. If you faint, someone has to carry you back." Katara saw that arguing would be useless and consented.

Si Le was on her pallet, sweat pouring from her pores. In the feeble candlelight, she looked simply horrible. A basin of water sat next to her. "Zuko, could you heat that basin up? I need hot water for this," Katara asked, kneeling by the sick Firebender. The Fire Prince did as she asked, handing to her when it was hot.

Katara placed some of the herbs from her satchel into the steaming basin almost automatically. Zuko assumed she had done this enough times that it was just habit. The prince watched as Katara stirred this mixture of water and herbs into a paste or a soup, Zuko couldn't tell.

"Si Le, I need you to sit up," Katara said gently. Si Le didn't respond. "Li, can you help your sister sit up? I need to either get her to drink this or force it down her throat." Li, still crying, sat her twin sister up so Katara could get the concoction down Si Le's throat.

No sooner did Katara get the basin's contents down the sick girl's throat did Si Le attempt to cough it back up. "She's rejecting the mix," Katara said. "Not that I can blame her; it's mostly bitter herbs. But she needs to take this or there is very little chance she'll make a full recovery."

"Try massaging her throat. That's what my uncle did when I would refuse my medicine when I was sick," Zuko suggested. Katara gave Zuko a grateful look. She handed the basin to Li Se. Careful not to hurt her, Katara gently sent the concoction down Si Le's esophagus. The girl instantly calmed down and seemed a bit more responsive.

"Si Le?" Li Se asked, nervous. Her twin nodded in response. Everyone, even Zuko let out a deep breath they all had been holding.

"You need to sleep, Si. Fevers are no fun," Katara said. Si Le nodded again and laid down, asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Li Se was thanking Katara and Zuko all the way to the door. When they finally got there, Li Se dashed off back to her sister, leaving one tired Waterbender with the Fire Prince.

Katara was nearly dead on her feet. "I warned you," Zuko whispered, careful not to draw attention to them in case a guard was patrolling.

Katara smiled weakly as the two started off back to the hovel. "Hey, I helped Si Le. I'm fine." Just then, Katara fell.

Zuko stood over her, arms crossed. "Aren't you glad I came with you?" he whispered as he helped the poor Waterbender up. "I told you that you'd faint."

"Hey, I'm still conscious, so I haven't fainted yet," Katara retorted. She tried to walk but fell down again. "Oh, I'm so tired I can't even walk," she admitted. "Whoa!"

Zuko had picked her up. "See? I knew you'd need my help."

Katara laughed quietly. "Oh, hush. I would have been fine without you, you know."

"Hmm, really? You'd be stuck outside until morning if you fell without me here," Zuko pointed out. The two were arguing all the way back to the hovel.

When they got there, they were surprised to find Kyru waiting for them. Zuko gently let Katara down. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Kiena! She looked fine when you guys left, but suddenly she doesn't recognize me!" Kyru said. "Is this normal?"

Katara went in and looked at Kiena. "Her fever's spiked," she concluded. "And the only thing left in my satchel is lavender. If I don't get this fever down now, she'll die."

Of course, it was the final fever. Zuko remembered it well. After the fever came complete calm, then a deep sleep from which the victim never awakes. "What herb do you need to get the fever down?" Kyru asked.

"No clue."

"Wait," Zuko said. "I think the healers in my father's courts used rosehips from the Fire Rose. They made them into a tea."

"Fire Rose? Wouldn't the Ice Lily be better for a fever?" Katara questioned.

Zuko shrugged. "That's what the healers in the Fire Nation used. It saved a lot of people." There was sound, like someone scuffling, outside. Kyru tensed and motioned for Katara and Zuko to wait there. He left the hovel, returning with…

"Rosehips?" Katara asked.

"Fire Rosehips," Kyru said. "Whoever was listening to our conversation had these on them, I suppose." He handed them to Katara.

"Is there any water left?"

Kyru nodded. "Good. I need some heated up. Prince Zuko?"

The Fire Prince nodded and heated a basin full of water again. As he did, Katara set the rosehips into the hot water, watching as they turned into a dark, blood red tea. Katara looked at Zuko like she didn't really expect the tea to work. "Trust me," the prince whispered. Katara decided to and took a small cup. Scooping up the tea, she kneeled next to the delirious Earthbender on the ground. Kiena groaned.

"It's okay," Katara said soothingly. "It's just me." Kiena seemed to acknowledge the voice as a friend. Katara gently lifted Kiena head up. "Kyru, can you help me get this down her throat?" Kyru nodded and held his sister's head.

It took the better part of the hour to get Kiena to drink, but when all was said and done, most of the tea was in her stomach. Katara smiled with relief. "If what Zuko said is true, then this should help her greatly." Suddenly, the Waterbender nearly fell down from exhaustion.

"You need to sleep," Kyru said. "I'll keep an eye on Kiena." Katara looked ready to protest, but Zuko clamped a hand ever her mouth.

"No. He's right, Katara. If we were in the Fire Nation, I'd order you to go to sleep." Katara gave Zuko a look that said, "Yeah, right," but she got up to go to her pallet anyway.

When she had gone, Kyru looked at Zuko. "What?" Kyru quickly shook his mass of black hair.

"Nothing," he said, though his eyes told a different story. He turned back to his sister, who has coughing. Zuko rolled his eyes and followed Katara.

Katara was already sound asleep when Zuko pulled back the curtain. Her breath came in deep, even breaths, her chest rising and falling. For some unknown reason, Zuko was drawn to this sight. He laid down on his pallet, shaking his head. What on Earth was he doing? He…despise was too strong a word, and he certainly did not dislike her. What did he think of the Waterbender?


Gradually, the fever left the compound, but so did fifty Benders, Si Le among them. After the death of her sister, Li Se seemed to lose the spunk she had had for the longest. Apparently, Kyru and Kiena had a triplet, Kile, who had died in the last Huzon Fever. Kyru spent a lot of time with Li Se, he said helping get her spunk back.

"Oh, yeah, and the crush you've had on her for the longest plays no factor?" Kiena would say when Kyru told her where he'd been after Kiena returned from her part as Su's servant. Kyru would simply give her a glare and sit down on his pallet.

It was still not safe for Katara and Zuko to be seen outside, so while everyone else was outside, getting the fresh air that was needed, the two teens were stuck inside. And it was not helping Katara's health.

While at first she had been very loquacious, the fever outbreak had zapped her energy. Add that to her worries for her brother and Aang… Katara was not healthy.

Zuko realized this when she was up before he was, sweating. Katara was absently messing with the hem of her tunic, sitting on her pallet, muttering something about Aang and Sokka.

"Katara? Are you okay?" Zuko asked.

"I'm worried sick over Aang and Sokka, and that fever just brought back memories I'd rather forget," Katara said. "I feel sick to my stomach, and my legs feel like jelly."

"Exhaustion sickness. It's from dashing about, helping people, and worrying over your brother and the Avatar," Zuko said. "You should lie down." At Katara's attempted refusal, Zuko held up his hand. "It's only going to get worse if you don't."

"I can't sleep," retorted Katara.

"I didn't say sleep. I said lie down," the prince murmured as he gently pressed Katara down. "You can get really sick from exhaustion. Trust me, it's not fun."

"You had it once?"

"Multiple times. Uncle has yet to let me live it down. He brings it up whenever I try to 'overwork myself' as he puts it," Zuko said. Katara laughed.

"Do you miss your uncle?" The question caught Zuko off guard.

"Of…of course I miss my uncle. He's the only one in my family still alive who really worries about me," Zuko replied.

"Is it just me or is he a little eccentric? The only time I remember seeing him and he wasn't trying to flambé Zhao was with the pirates," Katara said, finally giving in to Zuko's request and lying down.

"'Eccentric' doesn't begin to cover Uncle Iroh," Zuko said, sitting back on his pallet. "He and my father were always arguing over everything."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Katara asked wryly. "Your father is not the most agreeable person, no offence."

Zuko sighed. "None taken. Many people agree with you on that."

"And you?"

The prince stiffened. "It's not my place to question what the Fire Lord says or does. If other people don't like him, it is his fault." Zuko turned away, his scarred side facing Katara. The memory of the last time he had questioned still burned.

Katara must have guessed that the scar played into this, because her next question was, "Did that hurt? The burn that caused your scar."

Zuko tensed. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to think he was weak, especially the Waterbender. Katara sensed this.

"You don't have to worry about being thought of as weak, Zuko. It's natural for burns to hurt. If they don't, well, then you're just weird."

"Then the majority of my Nation is weird to you," Zuko said. "Showing pain is a sign of weakness."

Katara snorted. "Being dumb enough to deny pain is weakness. It means that they're not sure of themselves and have to hide behind silly beliefs. That's what Dad would tell Sokka when the older boys would bully him, which wasn't often, seeing how Dad was chief."

"Chief? I thought the Southern Water Tribe's culture had been all but destroyed," Zuko remarked.

"Oh, it has. But not entirely. They still remember who the chief is," Katara said. "After Dad dies, Sokka will take his place. I hope he gets some sense knocked into him while I'm gone," she added as an afterthought.

Zuko remained silent. The thought of Katara being the Southern Water Tribe, for lack of a better word, princess, stirred something inside of him that was not altogether unpleasant. Before he could stop himself, the prince said, "If my father wins this war, he told my sister that any former royalty will be captured and all princes would be…." here he trailed off, hoping Katara got the gist.

She did. Cringing, she asked, "And you?"

Zuko's glance was all she needed to know the answer, and it was not a pleasant one. Katara looked at Zuko like she couldn't believe his father would do that.

Before much else could be said, Kyru pulled back the curtain. "Brought you two something to eat," he said, passing Zuko the bowls. The prince took them, handing one to Katara. Kyru looked at Zuko, then Katara, and back at Zuko. Shaking his head and smiling he left. Zuko heard him say one distinct word.

"Lovebirds."