Previously…

The dark wooden ship rocked back and forth in front of her, the pirates aboard crying out as they were flung to the side. Heaving the water now, she shoved her hands forward, the ship lurching free.

"NOW!" She yelled, hoping Gin was ready to go above them.

The Akagi slowly pulled off from the dock.

~0~

From behind Katara, a figure approached, their footsteps unsteady, clumsy.

"Zuko?" She asked, glancing out of the corner of her eye. "Are we clear yet?"

Zuko exited the engine room, the now-empty cart rumbling behind him.

He could barely hear Katara's voice from the stern. Who was she talking to?

A shrill noise cut through the night.

A scream.

"Katara?" He called, taking off in a run towards her.

The pile of ropes barely registered in his mind as he sprinted by where the once unconscious and bound pirate laid.

The pirate loomed over Katara's limp body, a sickening grin on his face.

"You," Zuko snarled, punching a fireball in his direction. "Leave her alone!"


Fire burned through any feeble attempt of a deflection, the blaze blanketing the side of the man's torso. Zuko had struck with such ferocity and quickness, the pirate didn't stand a chance. The bright orange illuminated the deck and Zuko watched on in horror as the pirate caught ablaze.

A scream ripped out of the man's mouth and he staggered backwards, towards the edge of the boat. The sickening stench of charred flesh filled Zuko's nostrils and his stomach flipped.

The scent of burning flesh was one he'd become far too familiar with, one he'd hoped he'd eventually forget.

The man practically leapt off the ship, body splashing with a sizzle into the warm ocean water below.

From above, Gin stared down in shock, expression mirroring that of Zuko's.

A few seconds ticked by, the sheer shock freezing the fire bender in place. A tiny moan escaped Katara's lips and that was all that was needed to snap him back into reality.

"Katara," Zuko dropped to his knees beside the unconscious girl. She laid on her stomach, head turned to the side, hair and clothing soaked with seawater and sweat. The moon was not enough to see her properly.

Summoning a small fire in his palm, he cautiously flipped her over, pushing her hair out of her face.

Pain contorted her features and she moaned softly.

Using his flame, he scanned her for any sort of injury.

Her face seemed fine, as did her legs and arms…but what was that dark spot on her torso?

He moved his hand, praying it was only the shadows casting a dark blob onto her clothing. He gently felt the shadow, his stomach dropping when blood coated his fingers.

Zuko cursed. She'd been stabbed along her right side, though thankfully it didn't seem to be too deep. The fire in his palm vanished as he got to work.

Ripping off his outer cloak, he bunched it up in his hands and pressed it onto the wound.

The pressure elicited a groan, and the girl's eyelids fluttered, tanned hands reaching aimlessly for the source of pain.

"Stay still," he rasped, the pirate he'd burned gone from his mind. "I got you."

"S'hurts," she slurred and grabbed at his wrists.

Her blue eyes focused enough to lock onto his.

Katara offered him a tiny smile before her eyes slid shut again.

A breeze blew past him, stirring her hair and he glanced up at the night sky.

I better get her inside…

The fire bender ripped off a long strip of cloth and gingerly tied it around her middle, securing her makeshift bandage to her.

Then, he gently scooped her up, whispering apologies as the motion pulled at the wound further. Something glinted out of the corner of his eye and he squinted down at the deck.

What was that?

Gingerly extending his leg, his foot scraped against whatever it was, pushing it down the decking.

The knife?

A karambit lay on the deck, the curved blade coated in a dark, wet substance. The handle, wrapped in a dark leather, lead up to a hole for the wielder's finger.

Katara began sliding in his grasp, reminding him of who had been on the receiving end of the knife.

He bounded up on the balls of his feet, readjusting her.

Katara's head lulled against his shoulder at the movement, baring the large scratches on her face and neck from the bird.

Her bare neck looked funny, he thought, without the red scarf or blue necklace tied around it.

It was a shame that they weren't able to get it back.

Zuko already dreaded the look on the girl's face when he told her that he wasn't able to find it, either.

He gazed out at the disappearing city, striding towards the tower's door.

They made it up the stairs with a steady pace. Based on the amount of blood that seeped through the bandages, he'd best keep an eye on her.

Gin met them at the suite's door, having already propped open both doors.

"How is she?" Gin asked, stepping out of the way.

Zuko shook his head, Gin's eyes darting down to the bundle of cloth woven tightly around her middle.

"I don't know."

After laying Katara onto the couch, Gin took watch over her, applying pressure, whilst Zuko began the search for medical supplies.

Begrudgingly, he searched through her bag, only to stop, suddenly remembering she could heal herself. It would be unlikely she'd have any.

Feeling foolish for rummaging through her things, he moved onto the storage room.

Iroh's voice echoed in his mind. Prince Zuko, you must always prepare for such things to happen. A day may come along where you do not always have the time to search for such things.

Finally, he found exactly what he was looking for - the tote he'd discovered in Ren's warehouse. Zuko fished out the bandages and salve.

A needle glinted in the torchlight and his stomach flipped for the second time that night.

He hoped they'd not need that.

Once Zuko had carefully lifted her tank, draping the fabric up over her thin sarashi wraps, he gulped, eyes lingering for just a moment on her slender figure.

Focus. He commanded himself.

His hands shook as he reached towards her and he steeled himself with a breath.

No time for nerves or teenage hormones.

Zuko clumsily untied the knot he'd made, peeling away the cloth.

Gin hissed from beside him at the sight.

The stab wound, a red gaping slash, stared back at him, a bruise already forming around the wound.

Resisting the urge to worry, he forced himself to methodically clean and rebandage the area.

This is no different then your own wounds, he assured himself. Just an easier place to get to. She'll be fine. She can heal herself once she wakes back up.

Stab wounds such as hers hadn't been the first he'd dealt with in his travels. Zuko'd been nicked a time or two over the years and he'd watched his ship's medic work on patients who'd experienced far worse injuries.

Neither fact made him feel any more qualified to be playing doctor for Katara.

"Careful now," Gin said quietly from beside him. "Don't tie it too tight."

Zuko loosened the wrap, lithe fingers squirming beneath her ribs to gently scoot her up off the gauzy cloth.

Katara groaned at the motion, eyes opening.

"Huh?" She said groggily, before inhaling in between her teeth, moaning.

"Take it easy." Gin's face was the first she saw, his torso and face in her line of sight.

Her pretty face contorted in pain and she instinctively reached her hand to the now wrapped wound. Zuko gently grasped her hand and her head rolled to the side to stare at the boy kneeling beside her.

"Don't touch it." He rasped, cheeks burning at her level of undress, paired with her soft hand in his grasp. He tugged her hand away.

She nodded slowly.

"Stupid pirates," she mumbled, groaning with pain again.

"When I was a younger man, you know what we did for the pain?" Gin replied with a chuckle. "Drank."

Katara's blue eyes widened, before she locked eyes with Gin.

"We have liquor in the kitchen. Will you get it?"

Zuko snorted in surprise and she looked back to him.

"What?" She said. "I don't have the energy to heal myself…not going to be able to sleep if it hurts this bad."

Zuko and Gin met eyes above her and the elder shrugged.

"I'll be back."

A bit later, the helmsman sauntered into the suite, a large dark bottle wedged against him, three glasses in hand.

"Figured we could all use a drink after the night we've had."

The prince debating pointing out that neither of them were old enough to drink before decidedly sighing, releasing his grasp on Katara to accept a cup.

Gin poured the dark amber liquid into the three cups before taking his cup and walking to the door.

"I better go check the ship, make sure she's still headed north." He took a swig. "And make sure those pirates aren't following us."

"Thanks Gin," she called after him.

Zuko watched the helmsman disappear, the heavy door slamming behind him.

Katara fixed her top, pulling it back down over her stomach.

Warily eyeing the glass, she attempted to press herself up enough to take a sip.

A small yelp of pain sent her torso dejectedly flopping back down.

He knew Katara was much too stubborn to ask for help.

"Let me help," he said seriously.

She said nothing, side eyeing the man.

"Let's try this," Zuko said as he knelt closer to the head of the couch, grabbing another cushion. Carefully, he helped lift her torso up, propping another pillow beneath her.

The additional pillow seemed to help somewhat, but he knew just by looking at the angle it probably wouldn't suffice. Before he could talk himself out of the solution, he handed her the glass.

Briefly meeting her eyes, he slid his hand behind the back of her head, fingers sliding through her hair. With slight pressure, he tilted her head up, giving her support. She pressed the glass to her lips and quickly downed the contents.

Her face scrunched in disgust as she set the glass back down on her thigh.

"That is disgusting."

A rosy pink tint blanketed her face and Zuko briefly wondered if it was from the alcohol or his fingers in her hair.

"First time having alcohol?" He smirked, releasing his grip on the back of her head.

"No."

Shooting her a look, he raised the cup to his own lips.

"What?" She giggled, wincing at the movement. "I'm not always so uptight."

"Never said you were." He said evenly and she fidgeted atop the extra pillow.

"You?" Katara asked softly.

Zuko drained the leftover contents of the cup and set it beside Katara's on the table.

"Of course not." He said, perhaps too quickly.

"Could you," she started, fingers tugging lightly on the additional pillow.

"Oh," he mumbled, cheeks warming. He helped her sit up a bit more before sliding the pillow out from beneath her.

Hugging the pillow to the chest, he leaned back on his heels, her eyes catching his.

Neither said a word. Both seemed lost in the moment.

There was that something again. The something that intrigued both of them just as much as it scared them.

Her lips parted, like she wanted to say something, before she shut them again.

"Um," she eventually said. "So, how did that pirate get there anyways?"

His hair had fallen in his face at some point in the last ten seconds and the movement to fix it gave him just enough time to think straight. He'd heard her words, but not processed them yet.

"He was guarding the Akagi," he explained huskily. "I tied him up, but obviously he escaped."

A few seconds passed, Katara's eyebrows shooting up.

"Sorry." He added.

"Zuko," Katara still was gazing at him, a mysterious smile on her face.

Was she…laughing at him? He nervously mussed with his hair.

He didn't respond, merely nodded ever so slightly, fingers halfway through his own hair, eyes once again locked onto hers.

Could she tell he was thinking about how her soft her hair felt in between his fingers? How he wanted to feel it again?

"Thank you."

A ghost of a smile drifted across her lips and she reached out, fingers brushing against the side of his arm.

He froze at the touch, staring at her. Nervousness bubbled through him.

Katara's soft expression faltered slightly at his stare. Had she done something wrong?

"You're welcome," he said evenly.

Zuko abruptly got up, suddenly feeling the need to distance himself from her.

She was making him…making him…care about her. Making him like her. And he really didn't want to be let down, on the off chance that she didn't feel the same.

His bag came into his line of sight and he impulsively squatted down beside it and began to dig through it.

He felt Katara's eyes on him, though he couldn't look at her.

Zuko awkwardly fled to the bathroom, bag in hand.

When he came back out she was softly snoring, arms draped across her torso.

The young man gazed upon the water bender, the torchlight burning low. They'd need to refill the torches with oil soon.

Extinguishing the flame, Zuko climbed into his bed on the opposite couch, pulling his blankets up and over him, only to kick them off.

Getting up, he carefully padded into Katara's room, pulled the blanket off her bed and draped it across her sleeping body before climbing back into his own bed.

~0~

The following morning, Katara, much to her surprise, woke before Zuko. The fire bender remained snuggled under the blankets of his bed, his scarred side bared to the ceiling. Her wound ached something fierce and she pressed her palm to the pain. She couldn't wait to submerge herself in water and hopefully expedite the healing process.

Shifting in place, she frowned at the blanket, peering curiously at her sleeping friend.

Had he covered her up before he went to sleep?

That was nice of him, she thought, smiling softly. Especially since he'd acted so distant.

Hardly anyone could confuse her as much as he did. Zuko was warm and caring one moment, cold and aloof the next. It often left her confused on how he felt about her or how much he actually cared. But only when she felt like she had him even slightly figured out, would he throw her a curveball and leave her questioning why he did what he did.

Katara wondered if it was intentional, or if it was merely a sort of defense mechanism he'd learned over the years. Based on what she'd learned about his childhood, she figured it could be a combination of the two. Regardless, it had started to infuriate her without end.

Her side throbbed at her in protest.

A few minutes later, the tub slowly filled with steaming water, the smoke curling off the top in tendrils.

Katara had managed to get to her feet and walk into the bathroom herself, but the thought of stooping over to crawl into the tub made her stomach flip with nausea.

So, she stood in the doorway, arms wrapped around her, only clad in her sarashi wraps. The white fabric covered her breasts and an inch or two beneath them, and thankfully covered her lower bits and the first few inches of thigh. Despite the coverage, she felt very exposed.

"Zuko?" She called, looking anywhere but him after he looked up. "Will you, uh, help me please?"

He glanced over from his spot on the couch and balked at the request, though Katara wasn't paying attention. Instead, she'd taken great fascination in the tapestry on the opposite wall.

Her cheeks burned the longer she stood there.

"So?" She continued, rubbing the back of her arm.

"U-uh, yeah." He hopped up from the couch, sticking his hands in his robe pockets.

Katara backed away from the doorway to allow him into the bathroom.

"I tried to step over the edge," she said needlessly. "But, um…it was too tall and…"

Shut up Katara, she told herself and clamped her lips shut.

Finally getting the courage to look at Zuko, she found him standing beside her, taking in the tub full of steaming water.

Her dark haired friend looked slightly flustered, much to her surprise. Usually he was all too good at putting on that Spirit forsaken mask of indifference.

"How do you think would be easiest?" She queried, staring up at his face.

Zuko's eyes flitted from the large metallic tub to Katara. The steam curled up invitingly and he hummed.

"Here," he rasped, going to scoop Katara up like he had the night before.

She blinked bashfully, arm winding around his neck as he slid his arm behind her knees.

He grunted lightly, kneeling down slowly. Her butt hit the water first and she hissed at the warmth, the noise sending him jerking up in surprise.

"What?"

"S-sorry," she mumbled. "It was hotter then I expected."

His amber eyes slid across her face down to the steaming water. "You didn't check it?"

The blush she'd just gotten rid of returned, glancing back nervously to meet his eyes.

"Guess not good enough."

She waved her free hand in the air, imagining ice crystals forming ever so slightly throughout, cooling the water.

Zuko watched the steam fade slightly before lowering her into the water.

Katara's arm released his neck and she winced as the bandage took in water.

"Oh," he commented, assisting her in peeling away the offending object. "Here."

His warm hands brushed her ribs and the feeling sent butterflies swarming in her stomach. Their eyes met again after the touch and Katara forced a nonchalant smile to her face.

"Thank you."

Blinking rapidly, she tore her gaze away and summoned the water to her hand, pressing her glowing hand to her side.

Zuko sat back on his heels, watching the healer work.

The gouge flared up beneath her hand, pain shooting into her. Wincing, she left her hand in place. Slowly, she felt the severity ebb away, the tissue fusing together. Her muscles twitched at the exertion and her brain felt foggy.

Her energy ebbed at her ministrations.

Blood curled like smoke tendrils in the water, seeping out from beneath her hand. Her pain lessened to the point of a dull ache, the injury no longer requiring stitches. She'd not been strong enough to make it vanish completely, much to her dismay.

It was no surprise, though. Healing severe wounds without water from the Spirit Oasis from the north was next to impossible. At least at her current bending level.

"You're still bleeding," Zuko commented huskily, eyes studying the red tendrils.

"Yeah," she said wobbly. "I couldn't get it all."

Katara's head felt weird. Her vision felt as if on a delay and her eyes didn't want to focus.

She gripped the side of the tub and pressed herself up on shaky legs.

"I probably should get it bandaged up again."

Zuko got up to help her out and she forced an unconvincing smile to her lips.

"No, I got it."

The girl was able to swing her leg over the tub and climb out with manageable pain. She'd just gotten the towel wrapped around her body when black spots formed in her vision. All the moisture in her mouth seemed to vanish instantaneously and a ringing formed in her ears.

Katara groaned, turning her spinning head in what she hoped was Zuko's direction.

"Zu-"

The world went black.

~0~

When she came to, she'd been dressed in her familiar blue Water Tribe wrap top and skirt. The deep blue made her smile, despite the slowly forming headache.

"Nice of you to join us," a voice commented from a ways away.

Katara turned her head to see Gin perched on a small seat near the entry way, maps splayed out on the side table near him.

She took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. "I passed out, huh?"

The bender pressed herself up to lean sideways against the back of the couch.

"Apparently."

Flicking her eyes to the door behind him, Gin said, "He's getting some food. It's lunchtime. He didn't want to leave you alone."

She nodded, attention going back down to the once familiar blue garments on her body. The blue made her homesick, more then she realized a simple color could. It was a strange choice of attire, especially since she had been wearing Fire Nation red for so long. Her injury throbbed dully, reminding her of the probable blood-stained and slashed tank. Hopefully she could get the dried blood out and repair it.

"Are you from the north or south, dear?" Gin asked nonchalantly.

She turned to look at him in surprise. She'd not expected him to ask.

"The south," she said after a moment's hesitation.

He hummed quietly. "I see."

The door beside him elicited a clunky sort of screech as the cog wheel on the other side turned. It swung open and Zuko came through, a soft look of relief blanketing his face at the sight of her.

"You're awake." Zuko greeted, setting a bowl of something down in front of Gin.

"Yeah," Katara said with a small grin. "Starving too. Is..is there enough for me?"

Zuko glanced down at the remaining bowl in his hand.

"Uh," he started, Katara getting to her feet.

"Oh," she said nearly at the same time. "That's fine. I can go make something for myself."

A bout of nausea hit her like a ton of bricks and she made a face.

"Absolutely not," Gin piped up, the bowl scraping as he picked it up. "Have mine. I'm more then capable of feeding myself."

Katara's fingers gripped onto the arm of the sofa and she reluctantly plopped down.

"You know, for once, I won't complain."

Gin set the stew down in front of her.

"Thank you," she said, eagerly picking up the food and shoveling a huge bite into her mouth.

Zuko shot Gin a thankful look, dipping his head.

~0~

The two days after their escape from Fire Fountain city were thankfully much less exciting then that night spent trying to escape the pirates. Katara, still in recovery, spent her second day bored out of her mind - the healing process going much, much slower then she'd hoped. Zuko, on the other hand, spent his avoiding the girl by keeping himself busy. He'd crammed his day so full of random activities to keep his mind occupied, that he'd only seen Katara briefly in the mess hall that morning.

He'd hoped his absence would go unnoticed, but Katara was much too sharp to let his obvious overload of activities slip by her.

Like she thought Zuko would actually want to - or know how to properly - she added with a snicker, do ship chores.

Zuko had began his morning with a mediation session, followed by over an hour of both styles of katas. Then, he'd stationed Yujo on the deck and disappeared below, doing Spirits knows what. Yujo and Zuko disappeared back beneath the decking before Zuko reappeared, only to trudge on into the engine room for a while. He went to eat lunch not long after Katara had finished, nearly scaring her half to death in the stairwell.

The young man thought he could continue his day like he had until he dropped a huge metal pot.

That of course, let out a clank so loud it brought her into the kitchen with a curiously concerned expression.

He'd had been a bit colder then necessary, he thought as the water bender stormed away.

Nevertheless, guilt for being such a snot ate at him.

Late afternoon finally, mercifully rolled around and Katara laid on the balcony, gazing up at the sky.

They were getting closer and closer to the eclipse and she felt like she hadn't gotten any closer to discovering her friends.

How many days had past by, anyways? She wondered.

A stray fluffy cloud slowly moved in the sky and the bender followed it with her eyes, mentally calculating the days.

A week spent alone, then another week or so on the Jang Hui river…the events over the weeks seemed to jumble together. Mumbling under her breath, she stuck out her fingers, counting.

Spirits, seriously?

Today, if she kept up with everything properly, would be the fourth week apart from her friends. Twenty-eight entire days alone.

Well, she continued internally. Not completely alone.

She rolled over onto her belly carefully, thinking of her moody friend somewhere below.

Almost two weeks of that had been spent with Zuko.

Katara propped her head on her folded arms, staring ahead at the wrought-iron railing.

What an unlikely alliance…yet here they were.

Er, well, here she was. Zuko didn't seem to willing to decide on whether or not he wanted to be her friend. Some days he appeared to be content with her as his friend, other days he wanted nothing to do with her.

She sighed, rolling back over to remove pressure from her slowly healing injury.

Boys. Katara rolled her eyes.

Why does it matter that he's indecisive? A little voice questioned. It's not like it matters.

It does matter, she bit back, shaking her head.

Admit it. You like him, it continued. You want him to like you, too.

Her cheeks flushed at that and Katara growled, bringing her hands up to rake down her face.

Oh yeah, she thought. This would hurt her in the end. Sokka would want to kill both of them if anything ever happened between them.

~0~

Evening rolled around and Katara busied herself in the kitchen, cutting a variety of ingredients for their dinner.

Gin had provided her with company throughout the day when she'd needed it. She hoped they could remain friends once they parted ways and that she wouldn't lose his friendship if and when he discovered who Katara - and now Zuko, hopefully - were journeying to help.

She thought back to his love-birds comment a few days prior and stiffened.

Maybe she didn't want him to stick around after all. She snorted, thinking about how her friends would react if he'd heard that comment from the helmsman.

"Something funny?" A raspy voice said from behind her.

Katara jumped, whirling around, eyes wide.

Zuko stood in the doorway to the kitchen, hands shoved in his pockets.

She squinted skeptically at him.

Oh, so now he wanted to make conversation.

Don't take it personal, Katara. Another voice whispered.

"No," she replied smoothly, turning back around. "Just lost in thought."

He didn't reply for so long, she thought he'd left.

"Gin said we'll be at the last stop before passing through the gates late tonight or early tomorrow."

She stopped chopping.

They still hadn't talked about their reasoning for passing through.

"We still need to figure out what to say to get them to not look too closely at us."

"You really think that your friends will make it through the Gates on the sky bison?"

"Appa," she corrected, still not turning around.

Instead, she pondered his words, working on the food some more.

"What?"

She picked up the stuffed peppers and turned around, observing Zuko's confused expression.

"The sky bison's name is Appa."

He blinked wordlessly.

"I never thought about that," she went over to the oven and slid the peppers inside. "I'll have to see if Gin will let me look at the maps, maybe there is somewhere close they would meet."

Katara folded her arms and turned to look back at Zuko. "Any ideas?"

He frowned, shaking his head. "I would have to look, too."

Katara paled. "You think Gin would rat us out if he knows about Aang?"

Zuko's frown turned into a scowl, thinking.

"No telling."

~0~

The next morning, they awoke docked along the coast of a peninsula, the central island of the Fire Nation in sight. Another island loomed in the distance to their right, no more then a mere shadow on the horizon.

The peninsula was gorgeous, much like the rest of the Fire Nation islands had been.

It never ceased to amaze Katara.

This section of land in particular wasn't quite as rocky as Shu Jing. The landscape was lush green, a dark green and brown thin forest coating the perimeter.

The duo made plans to try and find the nearest village later in the day. The sign posted at the dock said the village would be five miles inland, so Katara was simply waiting on Yujo to be loaded up with supplies for the trek and an empty cart to haul some back.

Thankfully, Zuko seemed to be in a more pleasant mood then the previous day, actually sitting with Gin and Katara in the mess hall for breakfast. Perhaps the alone time the day prior had been all he needed.

Mid morning arrived and Katara, Zuko and Yujo disembarked the Akagi, waving goodbye to their friend.

They had decided that it would be best if Gin sailed over to the eastern island for the day, in case the pirates were still in pursuit. The trio agreed to meet back at the docks the next afternoon, in order to give ample time to make the trek to and from the village with the supplies without anyone feeling rushed.

As the Akagi pulled away from the island, Katara turned to affectionately pat Yujo on the neck.

"Alright, friend," she murmured. "You ready to get going?"

Without waiting for the ostrich-horse's response, Zuko hoisted himself up into the saddle, earning a low squawk.

"Sorry," she cooed to it, rolling her eyes at Zuko. "He's not very considerate, is he?"

The young man scoffed and extended his hand. "C'mon Katara, we don't have all day."

Stubbornly, she ignored his outstretched hand, instead shoving her foot into the stirrup and heaving herself onto the animal's back with a wince.

"Alright then." Zuko grumbled and they were off.