Thisis it. The leaving. Oh I got a little risque in this one, but nothing to bad. I just wanted to say "WHO THE HELL CARES! Let's do it" But what would the fun in that be? No romance either.

Katara slowly opened her eyes and looked at the pillow beside her. She reached her hand up and ran it along the creases. She was lonely again. How dare he get up and not wake her. She rolled over on to her back and jumped as a pair of golden eyes were just inches from her. She sat up and glared at him, smoothing her hair down.

"Don't do that!" She scolded. He laughed.

"Oh what are you afraid I'll bite?" She narrowed her eyes and pushed him back as she stood up.

"You will. I've got the mark to prove it." Zuko smiled. She was always armed and ready for a fight. He looked down at her his eyes smoldering. He longed for her. He needed her to stay, but he needed her to go. Things were always so difficult. She caught his stare and blushed.

"Where is Riyo?"

"With Uncle." Zuko said watching her braid her hair back neatly. When she was done he reached out and rested his hand around the back of her neck. She looked up at him and smiled. She started to say something but was cut off when Zuko pulled her into a hungry and passionate kiss..

Their lips entanlged for a moment before his hungry tongue finally claimed hers. She smiled into the kiss. The sensations flowing through her body, were unpredictable, and very welcomed.

Zuko's strong arms pulled her closer, making Katara very aware of him. He pulled back and gave her a coy smile.

"Come along. You need to eat." She stared slack jawed at him, unable to hide the flush of her cheeks. She grabbed a book and threw it at him hitting him in the back of the head as he started to walk away.

"YOU bastard! That's not fair!" She scolded him again. He turned and looked at her with a very unsafe smile. With lightening quickness, he slammed her down and the bed and held her there with his own body, his hands pinning down her arms. His face inches from hers and his warm breath rolling over her cheeks. He leaned down and nuzzled the side of her face before looking at her.

"Oh I'm sorry. Was this what you wanted?" She looked up at him a slight amount of fear in her eyes. His eyes softened and he leaned down kissing her gently on the forehead.

"You have nothing to be afraid of. Especially me." He let her arms go and rolled over to lay beside her.

"In due time. We have only begun to love one another. Why cheapen it with physical pleasure?" He stood up and walked out of the room.

She stared wide eyed at the ceiling. What the HELL just happened here? Did I start that or did he? She felt the fire flood into her face again. She laughed uneasily and grabbed the pillow covering her face as she screamed out in frustration.

Zuko smiled to himself as he stood outside the door. He handled that very well if he did say so himself. He turned and saw one of the soliders staring at him. Automatically the omnipreseant scowl took it's place.

"Are you being paid to stand around and gawk! Get to work!" he barked. The man hurrily found his way back to his work. Zuko looked back towards the door just as Katara was walking out. She still had a slight reddness to her face. He chuckled and grabbed her wrist. She jumped and looked up at him.

"Why so jumpy?" She growled at him and looked away. Zuko's scowl again came to rest upon his face.

"You need to wash. I can't let you go into this village looking like you were a prisoner or something." She looked up at him with a 'And what would you call it' look. He frowned even deeper.

"Don't say a word. You had you're chance to swim away." She frowned and jerked her arm from him.

"Yeah until you're stupid self, jumped in after me with a damned injured leg!" He glared at her.

"I only jumped in to get my son's nanny back. And plus I couldn't have let you be shark food!"

"I wouldn't have even attracted sharks until you and you're bloody leg came in after me!"

"I wouldn't have had to jump in after you if you hadn't been so tempermental!"

"I'm the tempermental one! Look at you! I've been up for five minutes and you started a fight with me?" He stopped walking and thought a moment. He turned and looked at her.

"You started in on me!" Katara glared at him. I am not going to lose the last fight we might have for a while.

"I most certainly did NOT!"

"Did to."

"Did not!"

"Did to."

Katara threw her hands in the air then crossed them tight across her chest.

"You are so immature."

"Me? You're the one that's arguing with me!"

"That's because you aren't always right!" This stopped him. He turned and looked at her. Katara looked at him with wide eyes. Oops. What did I just do? Zuko just glared at her and lead her to the wash room shutting the door behind her.

Sokka looked over at Aang. He was depressing, not just depressed, depressing. The boy mopped about like his entire world had been taken from him. Neither of them had eaten in several days, that included Appa and Momom. Sokka felt like they might be pushing Appa to hard, but the sooner they found an Earth Kindom village the better. They had had to land. They had spotted a Fire Nation ship. Even though they had a feeling that Katara might have been aboard a Fire Nation ship, neither of them had the engergy to take on their soldiers. And what if that was the plan. Sokka had decided that they would need to think of a different plan. They had to resue Katara if she was on the ship, without beign caught themselves. Aang was in no means to defend anything, he didn't even have the energy,or the will power to bend.

Sokka shook his head as he looked out over the water. They had ran into a fisherman as they landed and the old angler had told them, if they walked they were about three days south of a village. They had to get started. From there they would plan out the rest. They had to take this one step at a time.

When Katara finally made it to the deck, after washing, eating, washing and changing and playing with Riyo a little, the sun was low in the sky. She cradled the baby in her arms. She had tried to prolong this as long as she could. Here comes the hard part. She frowned as she saw Zuko waiting for her at the landing. She walked over to him and looked up at his eyes. She was refusing to cry. She wasn't going to do it. She wanted to be free. Didn't she?

Zuko's face was stern and his movements were jerky as he took his son from Katara. Riyo began to cry, his little fingers outstretched to Katara.

Oh that did it. She couldn't fight the tears back anymore. One slipped silently down her cheek as she reached into her pocket. She took Zuko's free hand and buried her mother's stone deep in his palm.

"What is this?" Zuko looked at the stone then bcak to her.

"You know how much that means to me. I want you to keep it." Zuko swallowed hard supressing a large lump that had gathered in his throat.

"I will find you and give this back, when the time is right." He said his voice harsher then it needed to be. She looked to the floor and let her fingers linger up to the stone that had taken her the blue one's place. Zuko took her hand away from the stone and into his hand.

"That means that you are mine. A blood stone is a binding force. You are mine and you are a mother. Never forget that." She nodded. She understood now. The stone. It was like a promise. A tie to him. She would wear it in pride.

"I could never forget." She whispered then looked back up at him. She tip-toed up and planted a light kiss on his lips before making her way down the landing.

"Goodbye." Zuko said recieving only a nod in return. He knew she was crying. What a worthless display of weakness. He said right as a tear fell from his own eye. He brushed it away quickly.

As Katara walked off, Riyo's cries turned to screams and her heart lurched. She couldn't turn back. She had to keep going. She couldn't turn back. She would never go if she did. This was hard enough with out that one last wanted look.

I could have made this sadder. But I decided not to so, mweh.