a/n Thank you for the feedback! :)

Over the chapters, I have gotten some readers asking about my formatting. Early on, I chose to do a single space format to make paragraph breaks more visible (and only have a line break for dialogue). However, it has come to my attention that this makes the dialogue difficult to follow. If I could indent my dialogue, like most physical publications do, I would. Since I do not want the format to take away from people's experience, I have decided to conform to the standard formatting for the site.

Thank you for your continual patience with this story. I love reading your reviews for they inspire me to keep writing.

Disclaimer: If I owned this franchise, there would've been more seasons.

~Chapter 13~

-Katara-

"Wait!" she called after him, but he didn't stop. "Zuko!" Shit, she cursed to herself, Of all the idiotic-

"Katara!" she heard Sokka yell in the distance, breaking her inner chastising. "Katara!" Sokka burst onto the beach and was sprinting down the dock. "Katara! I just got a text from Gran Gran! Did-" Before Sokka could finish his question, he noticed the look on her face.

"Dad's missing," she said quietly.

"Yes. Well, he's not 'missing' exactly…" Sokka said trying to sound optimistic, "He just hasn't reported in yet."

"He's missing!" She yelled. It was like a nightmare; her worst fear realized. Dad's missing. Dad's missing, she chanted over and over in her head. She wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't come.

She was hardly aware of Sokka taking her gently by the elbow and leading her up the path to the main lodge. There was a soft light on somewhere and Iroh sat at a table with a kettle and two teacups. Sokka led her over and Iroh gestured for her to sit. Sokka murmured something about checking in on his campers, before leaving.

"Did you know that lemon balm belongs to the mint family?" Iroh asked as he poured the second cup and placed it in front of her. "It has many versatile purposes, good for everything from digestive problems to pain. It is well known to provide calming effects. Some people drink its tea for sleep problems, high blood pressure, hysteria, melancholia, or ADHD. Of course, personally, I just like the taste. What do you think?" She took a tentative sip.

"It's nice," she replied softly, continuing to stare blankly at the golden tea.

"I think its name is very fitting," he went on, "It has a faint lemony aroma and it can soothe a person in many ways." He paused, as if unsure how to proceed. "Your brother tells me you both received some news concerning your father… I know, in a way, what you are going through. It is always hard to feel so powerless when it comes to those we love."

"Why should we love him? He left us, again," she said, looking up at Iroh.

"That's the thing about love, we can't always choose who we love and why. The man is your father. He loves you, raised you, so of course you love him. Now, that doesn't mean that he's perfect. He still makes mistakes. He will still make decisions that you might not agree with or support, but either way, you still love him."

"But that's not always true of fathers. Just because you're related, doesn't mean you have to love them." Katara argued. "Take Zuko's dad for example." She regretted saying those last five words instantly. Iroh's face fell and he suddenly looked much older, wearier, in the dim light. "I'm sorry Iroh." Iroh nodded slowly and took a long drag of tea.

"No, I suppose you are right Miss Katara. My brother was never much of the loving sort. There were some good years, but way too many bad ones. He drank things stronger than tea and became a danger to himself and others. He could have had a good life. He had a wonderful wife and two great kids, if only that could've been enough for him… But unlike Ozai, your father has not forsaken you. He has not run out of your lives purposefully or forever. There is honor in serving."

"He did run away though. He's running away from reminders of our mom."

"He doesn't know how to process the loss still. He will have to adjust to being a civilian and single dad at the same time. That would be overwhelming for anyone, so he returned to a familiar, highly structured, and orderly life. Give him time."

"You don't know a thing about my family! Why are you defending him?!" she asked, raising her voice, and feeling the warm comfort of the tea melt away.

"Because I was him," Iroh said sharply. "I've been there Katara," he said more gently, "I know." For the second time that evening, she felt foolish.

-Zuko-

It hurt to hear that she thought so little of him, but if that's how she wanted things to be… he would just let her be. He always thought that she was an amazingly insightful and caring person, but could he have been wrong? Maybe she wasn't the person he thought she was. He'd secretly believed that he would never be good enough for her, but could it be the other way around? Was she good enough for him? These thoughts and questions plagued him as he prepared for the campfire that night.

He didn't really talk to anyone for the rest of the evening. Only after the campfire, as everyone began filing out of the amphitheater, did Ty approach.

"Hey, Zuko," she said at his elbow.

"Hi," he replied gruffly. She fidgeted next to him. "You okay?"

"Me? Yeah. It's just…" she dried her hands on her shorts nervously, "Have you heard about Sokka and Katara's dad?" she asked, after looking around. His eyebrows knit in confusion.

"No…"

"Oh, uhm, he's missing," she said the last word quietly.

"Missing?!" Zuko repeated in surprise. Ty shushed him quickly.

"I don't know who all knows. I overheard Sokka telling Suki." He tried to process what Ty had just told him. Perhaps that was why Katara was so upset down by the docks? Obviously, he felt bad, but why didn't she tell him? Why did she have to say all that garbage about him taking advantage of her? His pride still stung and besides, she clearly didn't want his comfort or his company.

Sleep did not come easily. Bad dreams made it impossible to get any decent sleep.

She stood with her back to him, unmoving.

"Katara?" he asked hesitantly, reaching out to tap her on the shoulder. She was cold and hard like a sculpture. "Katara!" he called out in alarm. He moved to stand in front of her and could see the pale blue sheen of ice that had taken over her body. Even her eyes, once piercingly blue, were dulled and glassy. What happened to her? He tried to touch her face, but suddenly found himself 10 yards away. The distance between them had been stretched apart. Now it wasn't Zuko facing her inches away, but Jet.

Zuko tried to run back towards them, but he couldn't move. His feet were frozen in place. 'Don't touch her!' he tried to yell, except his voice wouldn't work. He felt the numbness spread throughout his body, slowly closing in around his heart. Unable to do anything else, he was forced to watch Jet reach out and tap Katara on the nose with his index finger. No sooner had Jet drawn his hand away did the ice version of Katara start to tremble before bursting into a thousand pieces.

Inside his head, Zuko screamed, horrified by what he'd just seen. Slowly, Jet turned to smirk at him before calmly walking over.

"Goodnight Zuko," he said wryly and reached out to tap his frozen form.

Zuko woke with a lurch, his neck tingling with sweat. Fuck. He dragged his hand over his face, trying to erase the memory of the dream. Maybe it was time he resumed old habits…

After what happened with his father, he had to be the pillar of stability for his family. For a while, they needed him to be strong and stoic. His mom never asked him to take on such personal responsibility, but after everything she'd been through, he felt like he owed it to her. It had taken him a while to re-adjust to a normal life and to let himself enjoy simple pleasures. Maybe that's why his mom never liked Mai. With Mai, everything else seemed boring and unimportant. But at least with Mai, other parts of life didn't feel so bad. Maybe if he could remember how to be indifferent to the world, his heart wouldn't hurt so much. He just had to stop caring. How hard could it be?

Eventually, he must've fallen back to sleep because he woke up suddenly to the traditional trumpet sounds being blasted throughout the camp. He was alone in his cabin, the other members probably rousing their campers. He fell back with a plop. He had slept poorly that night and wasn't quite feeling up to being surrounded by 30 kids and his fellow staffers. However, he swung his legs over the bed and dressed dutifully. It was like he was on autopilot mode.

"You look awful." Mai stated when he got to the main lodge.

"Gee, thanks," he replied as he scooped some oatmeal into his bowl.

"Does it have anything to do with why Katara is taking part of the day off?"

"Huh?"

"Your uncle made an announcement before he let us start eating," she explained dryly, "said something about a personal matter, but nothing more." When he didn't respond, Mai continued, "Of course, it puts me on the spot because now I have to watch her kids on top of dealing with Toph." He wanted to criticize Mai for her attitude, but he couldn't seem to find the energy.

He tried to listen while Duke rattled off a story about putting fake spiders in his sister's bed and laugh along with Pippin and Sokka; however, Zuko was relieved when Uncle announced it was time for the day's first activity. Today he was teaching the kids how to build a shelter in case they were lost and had to spend the night in the woods.

"It's important to create a boundary between yourself and the ground," he explained, "Otherwise the earth can sap your body heat. At the same time, you don't want to be suspended off the ground because the air can get underneath you and make you cold that way." He went on in a routinized manner, answering questions as they arose while demonstrating how to lash three branches together. Soon the session was over and it was time to move on.

The day passed quickly. He tried to focus on each task one at a time, leaving little room to worry about Katara. He tried not to think about her. Just like he tried not to notice that she never showed up for lunch or dinner. Tomorrow the camp was hiking up the mountain to rock climb and sleep under the stars, he had a lot to prepare and think about, but there was somehow still room in his head to think about her.

-Katara-

She was alone in complete darkness. Her arms waived around blindly in front of her as she tried to navigate the environment.

"Katara!" a voice shouted, making her jump, "Katara, please!" the voice cried.

"Dad?" she asked, fear flooding her system, "Where are you?" She turned her head, searching frantically for him.

"Katara!" he called, his voice fainter.

"Where are you?" she repeated, as she stumbled forward, "I can't see. Don't go!"

"Katara," her dad's voice was now only a whisper, "It's okay."

"No! Wait!" She started to run towards the last source of his voice, losing her faltering on unknown objects. She wasn't sure how far she'd gone before she was suddenly on the ground, having tumbled over something heavy. She reached out to find what had tripped her and recoiled with a scream when she felt somebody's leg.

"Shhh," the owner of the leg said softly.

"Dad?" she squeaked.

"Shhh," he soothed, "It's all right 'Tara." She found his hand and gripped it tightly.

In a flash, his rough hand turned into sand and she found herself in a blinding desert.

"DAD!" she screamed over and over, patting the ground where he had just been, but there was nothing but sand as far as her eye could see. She suddenly became aware just how dry her mouth was and how her throat was sore from yelling. All she could do was start walking in one direction in the hopes of finding water.

As she trudged onward, her head began to pound and her vision started to waver. She could have sworn she saw a friendly mushroom in the distance, but kept walking the other direction. She looked back over her shoulder now and then to make sure her tracks kept pointing in the same direction. The wind started to blow sand into her eyes and she began to lose her footing. Every time she stumbled, she found it harder and harder to get back up. Her limbs felt heavy and she couldn't remember why she was bothered trying to walk out of the desert. What could be worth continuing her slow death?

The next time she fell onto the burning sand, she couldn't find the strength to continue.

I'll just take a little break she thought as she closed her eyes. As she laid there, the sand beneath her started moving around her, like she was sinking into it. It was hot and heavy. She tried to fight the vacuum, but every time she started to move her limbs fell deeper into the sand. It felt as though her limbs were engulfed in flames. She tried to open her mouth to scream, but got a mouthful of sand instead. It was consuming her.

She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. As the light from the sun faded from view, a single tear managed to overflow.

Katara woke up in a cold sweat. Her mouth was parched and her heart was racing. At first, she was disoriented, before quickly remembering where she was. Her nightmares hadn't been this bad in months. Needing some fresh air, she crept out of her cabin. It was very early in the morning, the sun only hinting at the horizon. The air was cool enough that she could see her breath as she walked down to the lake.

A light mist had gathered over the waters and the sky was a beautiful display of colors. She usually wasn't up this early to see it. Her mother used to say that she rose with the moon. At the thought of her mom, tears formed in her eyes. She missed her. She needed her. Now more than ever it seemed.

She sat on the dock, clutching her knees close to her chest, and sobbed. If mom had been here, maybe her dad wouldn't have reenlisted. If her mom was here, she'd know what to say. If her mom was still here, maybe their family wouldn't be so broken. But her mom wasn't here. Katara had shed so many tears over her mom initially, but then she had to be strong. Someone had to help Gran Gran run the house and keep Sokka in line. She hated to think it, but in a way, she resented both parents for leaving. The admittance, even to herself, made her stomach churn. What was wrong with her? Her mother was dead and her father was missing. Now was not the time to begrudge them.

In an effort to rein in her emotions, she tried to concentrate solely on her breathing. Slow breath in. Hold. Slow breath out. The grievance counselor she had been forced to see taught her that breathing technique. Previously, her method was to hold her breath until the pain from the lack of oxygen replaced the ache in her heart. It was "not healthy" apparently.

She brushed off those unpleasantries and got to her feet. Today was going to be a long day since they were hiking up the mountain and she knew that crying never helped anyone. She needed coffee.

There were already lights on in the main lodge. As she reached for the handle, she peered in and noticed two people sitting at a table inside. It was Mai and Zuko. She was about to leave, when Mai leaned over and kissed Zuko. Katara quickly turned away, her cheeks burning and an unknown emotion flaring inside her.

Zuko wasn't hers. He could kiss whomever he wanted to kiss. Why should it bother her? She was not jealous.

a/n Did you catch a few not-so-cleverly disguised references to the original show? What did you think overall?
Thank you for reading! This chapter was difficult for me to write for multiple reasons.