A/N: ok. Sorry for taking so long again, but there were finals this week... yea. SSOOO... here you go! Read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter 9 - Saving Sokka

Sokka screamed as he fell toward the water below.

"Help!" he shrieked.

"Ugh!" Zuko said to himself in disgust. "I don't believe this!"

He watched as Sokka's body hit the water with a huge splash. Making sure to move over a little, he dived into the large pool at the bottom of the waterfall. "Where are you?" He shouted, but received no answer. He swam toward the area in which he believed Sokka to be. The sound of water was deafening and the waterfall produced great amounts of foam and mist, so it was difficult to tell if he was correct or not. He dove under the water and opened his eyes, looking around. He could barely see under the churning water. However, he was able to see something out of the corner of his eye. Sure enough, he turned to find Sokka's floating form. He swam toward it, but was surprised to see the boy lifted out of the water by some otherworldly force.

A waterbender! He thought to himself. Suddenly, he found himself flying out of the water, into the air, and landing roughly on the ground. As he struggled to get up, he felt an enormous wave of air push him into the nearest tree. He continually tried to release himself from the air's terrible force, but it wouldn't let up. Finally, however, it did.

When Zuko was finally able to gather his strength, he looked up. Staring back at him were four people, one with surprise and three with loathing. He looked beyond them and found Katara looking over her unconscious brother with worry and care.

"So it was you!" he heard the Avatar say to him. He directed his attention toward the bald monk.

"What was me?" Zuko asked, annoyed and angry.

Instead of answering, Aang shot another powerful blast of air at the banished prince, pinning him to the tree.

"Stop it!" Zuko shouted, looking for a way out of his predicament.

Katara stood up and walked over to the commotion. "Why'd you take my brother?" She asked fiercely.

"I didn't take your stupid brother!" he shot back, furious. "I saved him!"

Aang, surprised, let up on his airbending. This allowed Zuko to fall forward, gasping for breath.

"What are you talking about?" he asked skeptically.

Zuko simply stared at him with hatred, still breathing hard.

Aang airbended the fire prince off of the ground.

"Stop it!" Zuko shouted. He hated being lifted up in the air, as if he were nothing but a stupid leaf. He looked around and saw a little boy hiding behind Aang. "What are you looking at?" he asked him angrily.

Mako whimpered and cowered behind Aang.

"Leave him alone!" Aang yelled, using his airbending to knock Zuko back into the tree.

Zuko grunted in pain, and blacked out.

Later…

When he awoke, Sokka found himself in a strange bed. A torch gave off a small amount of light. Groaning, he turned on his side, only to find Suki sitting beside his bed. She smiled at him quietly.

"Suki…?"

"Shh… go back to sleep. Everything's gonna be okay," she whispered gently.

But Sokka didn't want to go back to sleep. He wanted to know what had happened, where he was, and what Suki was doing here. "Suki… what are you doing here?"

She smiled again as Sokka sat up. "Don't worry about it. You should really get some more rest."

"I'm fine," Sokka began. "I don't need any more sleep. Really. See?" He tried to stand up, but immediately fell back onto the bed.

"Yes, I do," said Suki, laughing quietly.

Sokka felt his cheeks go warm, and hoped that Suki couldn't tell he was blushing. "That doesn't count!" he said, determined to make up for his blunder. He tried to get up again, and this time, succeeded. At least, for a few more seconds. As he fell back again, he admitted: "Ok, maybe just a little more sleep. But after that, I'll be good as new. You'll see." With that, he sat back and made himself comfortable.

Suki smiled. "I know," she said simply. "But for now, get some more rest." As Sokka closed his eyes, she bent down and kissed him affectionately. "Sleep well," she said, and walked out of the room.

This time, Sokka was sure she had seen him blush.

A/N: The next chapter is actually gonna be the last one. Hope you guys liked the story! R&R