Chapter 6

Zuko had gone into the living room twice during the night, the first time to clean the glass off of the floor once Azula had fallen asleep- or passed out, he wasn't entirely sure. She had ignored the throw blanket, but Zuko draped it over her anyway. The second time he went specifically to check on his sister. He left a plastic cup of water and a few pain pills and seltzer tablets on the coffee table, and he in the bathroom he laid out a fresh towel, washcloth, and he had even found a new toothbrush in the back of his linen closet. Finally, he was able to go properly to sleep.

Azula was gone when he woke the next morning. The water, aspirin and tablets were gone, but the things he left in the bathroom for her were untouched. The front door was unlocked, and Zuko could only hope she had called a car service to take her home.

It was already half past 6 when Zuko checked his phone. He had less than an hour before he had to meet Katara. There was no way he could make it on time, but he figured he could choose to be slightly late rather than ridiculously late.

Bzzz

Bzzz

Zuko's phone went off before he could set it down. Azula had sent him a text with just one word.

Reconsider

Zuko put his phone aside and got ready to go. He had made it as far as his car before his phone went off again. A video call this time, and Katara's disapproving face filled the screen.

"You're late," she said when he answered. Her eyebrow was cocked, and her mouth pinched in an annoyed line, but there was a humorous gleam in her eye that let Zuko know she wasn't too angry.

"Sorry," he said. "I'm on my way, though. See?" He switched the camera around so she could see his car. Katara huffed and pouted into her camera.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to wake up at the crack of dawn?" she demanded. Zuko smirked.

"You've been up since 5? Because that's what time the sun rose." Katara pulled a face at him.

"My day usually doesn't start until eight," she informed him. "At the earliest. I hauled my carcass up so I could be ready to go because you told me you'd be here at 7. What gives, dude?" Zuko grimaced as he climbed into his car.

"I'll explain later," he said. "But if you don't get off the phone, I can't drive and I'll be even later."

"Fine," Katara made another face at him. "But hurry up!" Then she hung up.

She was outside when Zuko pulled up about twenty minutes later. She had her leg pulled up behind her to stretch out her quad muscles. When she saw him, she released one hand and waved at him.

"About time," she chided him with a grin. "I was beginning to think you'd stood me up. I was going to ask Officer Arnaq to go with me instead when he drove by again."

"Nah," Zuko said. "That guy hates running. He'd probably just follow you in the cruiser. Or make you chase it." Katara shrugged noncommittally.

"So, what kept you?" she asked, leaning down to grab her toes. Zuko put his things on to the steps and copied her.

"I had a late night," he told her.

"Oh?" Katara glanced over at him. "Working late?" Zuko's mouth twisted into a grimace.

"My sister dropped by," he said. Katara stood up.

"What?" she gasped. "I'm sorry! You didn't leave her to come here did you? You should have cancelled." Zuko stood and shook his shoulders out.

"Don't worry about it," Zuko assured her. "It was unexpected and she left before I woke up. Let's go."

Zuko let Katara lead the way to the park. She was faster than he expected, and Zuko found himself having to push himself harder than usual to keep up with her. The park wasn't far, and soon Katara led the way to a woods lined path around a pond. Zuko's eyes swept over the area. He was pleased to see that Katara hadn't exaggerated the day before. There were people everywhere. Still, he caught himself staring into the trees and analyzing all the places a criminal could hide or drag a victim off to or…

Zuko shook his head and focused on keeping up with Katara. A stitch was forming in his side reminding him that he hadn't actually been running regularly in months. He was working harder than he was expecting to keep up with Katara, but he was managing it. Until she led him up the hill.

"You can't be serious!" he gasped. The hill was really more of a small mountain. It rose up suddenly and steeply in the middle of the park. The tree lined path wound back and forth, so it wasn't a straight shot to the top. Katara laughed at the expression on his face.

"Come on, it's not that bad," she said. "The view from the top is worth it." Zuko very much doubted that, but when Katara started running, he followed. He found that it was easier if he didn't look too far ahead, and he focused instead of the rhythm of his feet hitting the ground.

Katara stopped at the top of the hill and waited for Zuko to catch up. She turned back panting, and red-faced, but beaming at him. Zuko nearly froze midstep. Katara looked impossibly happy- impossibly carefree- despite everything. This was the life Koh wanted to be cut short. Zuko had only ever seen the aftermath of Koh's crimes before, but now he wondered about the other lives. Had any of them been in school? Had any of them loved running in the park? Did any of them smile the way Katara was smiling at him now? Zuko felt something break and then harden in him. The new resolve settled in his stomach. He would see that every last one of Koh's victims got justice. And he would make sure he never laid a hand on Katara, no matter what.

"Come look!" She beckoned him closer. "You have to see this view." Zuko scrambled the rest of the way to her side.

The view was breathtaking. The hill they stood on was surrounded on two sides by woods. With their backs to the path and the city skyscrapers, it was easy to imagine that they were in a deep forest somewhere far from Republic City.

Katara closed her eyes and tilted her head up towards the sun. The past two days seemed like a strange dream in that moment. She wanted to hold on to it for as long as she could.

"It's really pretty up here," Zuko said quietly. Katara opened her eyes and sighed. It had been a nice moment.

"I like to come up here to clear my head sometimes," Katara told Zuko with a small smile. "Something about the air here makes things seem clearer somehow. It helps me make decisions." Katara glanced over at Zuko.

"You have a big decision to make now?" he asked her. Katara nodded. She dropped her gaze to the ground.

"I…I think I should stay at a hotel tonight," she said.

"Huh…?" Whatever Zuko expected her to say, that wasn't even close. Katara wrapped her arms around herself, and tried to find the words to explain herself.

"Something ...happened last night," she said hesitantly. "It wasn't a big deal, but I don't... I don't feel safe." Katara swallowed hard against the bitter lump of anger in her throat. She told Zuko about the night before, and how she had been startled by the animal in her yard. Zuko's face darkened in consternation when Katara told him she had gone to check out the noise on her own instead of letting an officer do it, but he held his tongue and let Katara speak.

"I have never been that afraid in my own home before," Katara said. She kept her eyes fixed on some point in the distance. "I know I should have gotten an officer or something, but that felt like I was giving up. I didn't want Koh to ...win I guess. That sounds pretty stupid, huh?" There was a wry smile on Katara's face when she turned to Zuko, but her jaw was clenched, and her nostrils flared angrily. Zuko reached for her hand.

"It's not stupid," he told her. Katara looked down at their hands. For a moment Zuko thought she was going to drop his, but she didn't. She didn't acknowledge it at all as she turned her gaze back to the tree tops.

"I don't want to go," Katara confessed. Her voice was so low Zuko almost missed it. "But I couldn't sleep last night."

The truth was that her heart hadn't slowed completely after she hung up with Toph. That night every sound seemed to be amplified and morphed into something sinister. The noises she had been used to hearing for years suddenly had Katara jumping up and checking shadows. It wasn't until the sun lit up the horizon and proved there was no one watching her room from the shadows outside that the thudding in Katara's chest stilled and she could breathe again. She didn't want to spend another night that way.

"We can figure it out," Zuko said. "There are hotels we send witnesses to when-"

"Don't worry." Katara slipped her hand out of Zuko's to push some stray hair out of her face. She forced a smile. "I can take care of finding a room. I want to do that for myself at least."

"Alright." Zuko flexed his fingers. He cleared his throat and looked at Katara almost shyly. "There's nothing wrong with this, you know." Katara quirked her eyebrow questioningly.

"What?" Zuko shifted uncomfortably.

"Leaving tonight," he clarified. "Spending the night away from home. It's not a point for Koh. It's not weak."

"I...I know." Katara frowned. It was essentially what Sokka and Toph had told her, and she wanted to believe them all. She really did. There was no rational explanation to how she had been acting since she found out Koh was after her, except that she wasn't used to so many people being concerned about her. She wasn't used to not being able to solve her own problems and everyone else's. Katara brought her arms around herself.

"Hey," Zuko said, breaking her pensive silence. Katara turned towards him. "You want to go grab some breakfast?" Katara hesitated a moment.

"Yeah, okay. Let's go." They ran back to the house to Zuko's slight chagrin. But they were going downhill this time, and he was able to keep up more or less. When they got back to the house, Katara headed for the stairs while Zuko gathered his things from the front hall.

"Where are you going?" Zuko asked. Katara pointed up stairs.

"I'm going to clean up a little," she said.

"Seriously?" Zuko raised his eyebrow.

"Well, yeah," Katara furrowed her brow. "I'm not getting in the shower. I'm just going to get some of this sweat and dirt off of me. I feel gross." Zuko shook his head.

"No!' he said. "If I have to go sweaty and gross, so do you."

"You can't be serious." Katara laughed incredulously. "I'm home. I have clean clothes." Zuko kept shaking his head.

"Solidarity, Katara," he replied. "If I'm sweaty and gross, you should be, too."

"You can clean up, too," Katara offered. "I'll give you a washcloth." Zuko declined.

"I have to go to work after this," he said. "I don't have time. Let's get going."

"But…" Katara protested. Zuko took her hand and led her towards the door.

"Think of it like this," he said, slipping on his shoes. "We aren't going to look sweaty and gross to everyone. We're going to look athletic and superior. Come on, we could both used a healthy dose of feeling arbitrarily better than everyone." That got a genuine laugh from Katara. She stepped back into her sneakers.

"Alright, fine," she relented. "You win. Just give me a second."

"You're not allowed to clean up," Zuko warned.

"I literally just said I wouldn't." Katara lifted her wrist and pressed a button on what Zuko thought was a watch.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Logging my miles," Katara explained. "This is how I keep track of my progress. It helps me set running goals. See?" Katara showed Zuko her phone. "It sends all the info to this app. It tracks where I run, and suggests other routes I might like."

"That's pretty cool," Zuko said. "Are you done? I'm really hungry." Katara laughed and grabbed her keys.

"Let's go, greedy."

Zuko ended up taking Katara to a diner about half-way between his apartment and the precinct. He'd been there a couple of times, and the food was decent, but he chose it for the anonymity. It was far enough from the university that he was fairly certain Katara wouldn't know anyone there, and it wasn't a cop hang out either, so no one Zuko knew would be there either. For Zuko it felt like leaving all the things in his life that stressed him out behind, and he hoped it would help Katara, too.

"You can get whatever you like," Zuko said once they had been seated. "It's on me." Katara dropped her menu.

"Absolutely not," she said. "Breakfast is on me." Zuko shook his head.

"I'm serious. I've got it.'

"Come on!" Katara insisted. "Let me get this. I have to thank you somehow!" Zuko recoiled in surprise.

"Thank me?" he asked. "For what?" Katara waved her hands around.

"Everything!" she said. "Everything you've done for me the last couple of days." Zuko's eyes widened in surprise.

"You mean my job?"

"Well...yeah," Katara said. "I know it's your job, but...You're being so nice about it. You're honestly the only reason I'm not curled up under my bed crying. And I know I haven't made your job easy. So...yeah...that's what I'm thanking you for. And I guess apologizing for, too." Zuko's shoulders had inched their way up to his ears, the tips of which he was certain were turning bright red.

"You don't owe me either," he told Katara. "You don't need to thank me or apologize. You really haven't been that difficult." Katara shot him a disbelieving look. Zuko shrugged. "Sure, you've been a little reckless- like, that checking strange noises thing alone, don't do that again- but it's not like you're being obnoxious or anything. It's totally understandable. So...breakfast is on me, okay?" Katara shook her head.

"How about we compromise?" she suggested. "I'll pay for your breakfast and you can pay for mine." Zuko thought about fighting the point a bit more, but Katara had a look on her face that suggested that she was just as ready to dig her heels in. Instead, Zuko relented with a chuckle.

"Alright," he said throwing his hands up in surrender. "Alright you win. We'll compromise."

"Aren't you two just the cutest couple?" Zuko flinched and the pair turned towards the waitress they hadn't seen approaching near the end of their conversation. "I wish I could get my husband to fall in line so quickly." Zuko started to correct her, but Katara cut him off.

"Thanks," she said smiling. She winked at Zuko conspiratorially. The waitress didn't notice the exchange.

"How long have two been together," she asked. "Oh! I'll bet it's been a while. The way you two communicate." Katara smiled and did an admirable job hiding her laughter. Zuko just blanched.

"It's actually pretty new," she said.

"Brand new," Zuko mumbled in agreement. "We haven't even driven off the lot yet." The waitress furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Yes, well," she said, pulling out her order pad and pen. "What can I get you two to start? Juice? Tea? Coffee?"

"Coffee for me, please," Katara said.

"I'll have tea, thanks." Zuko turned his attention his menu. He focused on the breakfast selection, hoping that would help him fight the furious blush on his face.

"You're one of those tea over coffee people, huh?" Katara commented. Zuko smirked to himself and said quietly,

"You better be-leaf it." There was a beat of silence before Katara burst into laughter at his joke. The waitress smiled at him too.

"Oh, you're going to be my favorite table," she said. "I can tell."

Katara wiped tears of mirth. She didn't get her laughter under control until the waitress was gone. Her wide grin remained even after she stopped laughing. Zuko's chest swelled in an odd sense of pride at it. Very few people found him funny.

"That was awful,' Katara told him. She was still giggling a bit, so Zuko chose to smile back at her.

"I am Iroh's nephew," he said with self-deprecating shrug.

"Don't worry, I love a terrible pun ," Katara assured him. She picked up her menu and looked over the breakfast options. Zuko picked what he wanted, and turned his attention back to Katara. She seemed to be having a much harder time deciding, because Zuko noticed a wrinkle just above her nose. Was that what she looked like when she studied, he wondered.

"What are you in school for?" Zuko asked. Katara looked up from the menu.

"I didn't tell you?" she asked.

"I...er...hadn't asked," Zuko said. He looked at Katara sheepishly. "I should have, but…" Katara put her hand up.

"There were other things on your mind,' she finished for him. "No, I get it. I'm not offended." She set her menu aside. "I'm working on my PhD in public policy, domestic and foreign."

"What does that mean?" Katara grinned at Zuko's question, as if it were a private joke she had with herself.

"Sokka says it's my first step towards global domination," she said. "But really, it just means that I'm learning how the be a professional bureaucrat."

"That sounds…" Zuko floundered for the right word.

"Boring?" Katara supplied. Zuko protested that that's not what he meant, but Katara waved him off. "I know it's not as interesting as being a detective or building a space station, but I can help make policy and change laws. I can help make universal healthcare a reality, and make sure everyone has access to quality education, even if they don't have a lot of money. I could help shape foreign policy, too."

"You make it sound so important," Zuko said. Katara nodded.

"It is," she said. 'And it's a lot more interesting than it sounds. A couple of months ago, my professor let me be part of a team that's looking into expanding health coverage for the poor. I did research at the hospital around the city and spoke to the doctors about what kind of support they would need for that. What?" Sometime during Katara's story Zuko began to frown. He stared at her now with a calculating look.

"You say that you were visiting the hospitals in the area?" he asked. "You were in the hospitals?" Suddenly Katara realized that he had gone into detective mode.

"Yes," she replied. "Is that important?" Zuko's frown deepened, and he drummed his fingers against his chin thoughtfully.

"It may be. We think Koh might work in a hospital."

"What?" Katara was incredulous. She went back over the doctors she had spoken to, but none of them stood out as especially likely to be a serial killer. But how would she know?

"It's just a theory," Zuko said. "We think he's been using succinylcholine on his victims."

"Tui and La…" the blood had drained from Katara's face, but she didn't want to change the subject. "That's kind of good news, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Succinylcholine is a serious drug," Katara explained. "There are only two hospitals in Republic City that would have it on hand, and they both require a doctor to put in a personal access code to get it. All the medicine is tracked closely, so if there's less of a drug than there should be, the hospital will know exactly who was in the supplies and when. It's really hard for a doctor to get away with stealing long term. The drugs like succinylcholine, at least."

"That's good to know," Zuko said. How had no one else bothered to mention that? He had been preparing to call around to all five hospitals in the area, a task that would have taken up too much precious time. Now he only had two on his list. Still,

"The ME thinks Koh doesn't have any medical training," Zuko told Katara. "He says Koh might just work at a hospital as a janitor or something."

"That's unlikely," Katara said. She shook her head with a frown. "It would be even harder for a janitor to steal that kind of drug. They don't get access codes. And if he managed to use someone else's, it would be noticed almost immediately. The doctors have to account for every drug they're listed as taking. Someone would notice if they were recorded as taking succinylcholine when they didn't."

"Then maybe we are looking for a doctor." Zuko slumped against his seat. 'Just not a very good one."

"Ha!" Katara scoffed. "Sounds like a terrible doctor." She sighed and leaned forward on her elbows and gazed out of the window. "What about the prison?"

"What about it?" Zuko asked. Katara looked over at him sharply.

"Republic City Penitentiary," she said. "They perform executions there." Zuko nodded slowly, uncertain of what she was getting at. Then he froze as understanding dawned on him.

"They use succinylcholine in the lethal injections," he gasped.

"Yes!" Katara nodded emphatically. "And the prison hasn't been overhauled in decades. I bet they don't have nearly the level of security as the hospitals."

"That's so obvious!" Zuko cried. "How have we missed that for fifteen years?" The prison was about an hour's drive from the city. Close enough that Koh might still live in the city, or hunt his victims without drawing anyone's suspicion with frequent visits. Zuko began gathering his things.

"I have to look into this," he said distractedly. "Which hospitals did you say use succinylcholine?"

"I'll text them to you." Katara dug through her purse for her phone. "And I still need to figure out a hotel."

"Let me know as soon as you do," Zuko said. "I'll make sure you have a ride. Where's the check?" Katara looked around the table in confusion.

"The check…?"

"Hi again," the cheerful waitress had returned with their coffee and tea. "I'm so sorry about the wait. We had to brew a new pot of coffee. So, what can I get you for breakfast?"