A/N: yawns Hola guys! I hope you're enjoying the story so far, I know I am! Now, prepare yourselves! Not only do you get a longer chapter, but you get to see a secret talent of Zuko's!(pay close attention to the title) I hope you like it! Enjoi!

Disclaimer: Me: Um. I'm running out of ideas…

Laywers: Can we sue her for that?

Me: NO! You can't! Avatar does not belong to me, it belongs to Nickelodeon!

Thank you:

Chinesechic: Is this one long enough? I hope you like it! Thanks for reviewing!

dragon's kitty: Heh! Is this one any longer? Gee, I don't know…It might be…sarcasm Bwa haha ha! It's only going to get more suspenseful!...perhaps…ish not sure…Erm, thanks!

Arwey: Thank you! I'm on somebody's author alert list! Yay!

Mini MnM: Ah heh…They're getting longer! Yea! I love humor, too! Thank you! I know! Yea, Zuko losing his temper is not a happy time, but it was really cool when blew flames!

Chapter 3: Healer

Day 1

Prince Zuko cradled the girl in his arms and began to walk to the only empty cabin on the ship. Things might work out to his advantage. This girl was obviously the Avatar's friend and the Avatar wouldn't leave a friend behind. He would be back for her, and when he did, Prince Zuko would be ready for him. Prince Zuko reached the room, balancing the girl on his knee and opening the door with his free hand. He set the Water Bender girl on the simple bed and began to investigate why she wouldn't catch herself from the fall. It hadn't been that much of a move for the bison and even if she had been asleep the cannon fire would have awoken her.

Prince Zuko sat on the bed next to her and immediately found the reason. She wasn't just asleep, she was completely unconscious. Her breathing was shallow and rapid, and dew drops of sweat dotted her face and neck. The girl's face was flushed and when Prince Zuko put the back of his hand to her forehead, her temperature was too high to be safe.

"Is she alright?"

Prince Zuko looked over and met his uncle's eyes. He sighed and stood up, beginning to take off his armor to reveal the simple tunic, pants, belt, and boots underneath. "No, she has a fever. Which, for most is not critical, but for the people of the Water Tribe, occasionally fatal."

His uncle narrowed his eyes. "What do you need?"

The prince rolled up his sleeves and pulled up a chair beside the bed. "I'll need a bowl of ice cold water, a wash cloth, ginson root, olliana leaves, penam blossoms, another bowl, a glass of cool water, and a plate of simple food: strips of meat and bread, for example."

"Right away, Zuko."

Prince Zuko looked back to the girl and proceeded to wait out the time thinking over the best way to capture the Avatar, once he did come.

His uncle arrived back in record time, balancing all the materials in his arms.

"Set them on the bedside table."

"Alright," the retired general eased the things the prince had asked for onto the table and stood back, watching his nephew go to work.

Prince Zuko took the wash cloth and drenched it in the cold water, wringing it before blotting the girl's face and neck. After this, he simply set the cloth on her forehead and turned his attention back to the bedside table. He grabbed the three herbs, taking only a bit of what his uncle had brought and put it into the empty bowl. He then held the bowl in his left hand and with the other, tipped a good half of the water from the glass into it. Prince Zuko took a deep, calming breath and released just the right amount of heat upwards through the bowl, enough to boil the concoction, but not enough to evaporate all the water completely. As the medicine turned a deep burgundy, he killed the heat and began to wait. Once the liquid was back down to a drinkable temperature, he edged onto the bed, leaning the girl against the wall. He gently opened her lips and poured the liquid down her throat. He then quickly pressed her lips shut and laid her back down, forcing her body to swallow. It was a nasty medicine to down, and he grimaced at the thought of trying to make her take it when she was awake.

From here, Prince Zuko took the stone pestle his uncle had brought and ground the herbs caked to the bottom into a dark paste. He set the bowl and pestle down and indifferently took off the girl's coat and pulled the top part of her shirt away from the skin near her collarbone. He dipped his fingers into the paste and smeared it over the skin. Prince Zuko removed his fingers from the girl's skin, putting the dirty bowl on the table. 'Idiot, you forgot to ask for a-"

Prince Zuko smiled slightly as he accepted the towel from his uncle's outstretched hand. "I didn't ask for a towel."

"I know you well enough, Zuko, to know what you need…even if you don't know it yet yourself."

Prince Zuko sat back in the chair beside the bed, leaning his head back and beginning to work out the kinks.

"So, what now?" His uncle asked.

"Now, the girl needs rest. When it gets dark, I'll try to get her to eat. Hopefully she'll be awake by then." With that, Prince Zuko walked to the ship's cockpit to issue an order to the captain to head straight for the Fire Nation. 'The longer the Avatar prolongs the girl's rescue, the closer she'll be to the Fire Nation and the closer I'll be to regaining my honor and home.' To Prince Zuko, the plan was a win-win situation. Little did he know, there was a growing flaw in his 'perfect' plan.

A/N: Guess what the flaw is? Bwa ha ha ha! Next chapter Zuko gets put into a slightly embarrassing situation! Mwa ha ha ha! They're both under my control! Please review!