Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. If I did, I wouldn't tell you. You wouldn't believe me. Mean!

Chapter 2- Thoughts

The waterbender awoke with a sharp pain in her side, a ghost of the happenings last night. Or was it last night, she thought. How long have I been asleep? She opened her eyes and all around her she saw metal. As she took in her surroundings, fear closed in around her heart and she thought about where she could be. Azula! She gasped inwardly and sprang up only to be forced back down by searing pain streaking through her body and strong, firm hand pushing her onto the bed.

"Now, now- er- miss." He didn't know what to call her. The prince just came in, dropped her on the bed, told him to take care of her or else, and left. "Please lie back down. You are in no condition to be out of bed," a stern voice commanded, although it sounded slightly concerned.

She lay back obediently, afraid to move lest the pain return. "Katara…" she whispered, so quietly the doctor missed it as he went about checking her pulse and administering a sedative to dull the pain and let the girl rest and regain her strength.

"What was that?" he asked. He looked to her face, a pained expression just beginning to relax as the medicine raced through her body.

"Katara… my name is Katara," she whispered again as she slipped back into unconsciousness, the sedative taking effect and numbing the pain.

"Any change?" Zuko asked as he walked into the sickbay, instantly surrounded by the smell of disinfectant. The girl had only been here a week. She had been asleep most of the time, and, to Zuko, she always seemed to be awake whenever he wasn't there. The doctor had said she woke up the first day, but unconsciousness soon took over after only a moment.

Katara. The doctor told him she only said that her name was Katara. She probably didn't even know where she was. He wished she would wake up already so he could just interrogate her and get it over and find the Avatar.

"No. She's still sleeping," he said quietly. Katara's eyes began to flutter and she groaned. "Or maybe she's waking up."

Zuko walked over to stand next to her, arms crossed, waiting for her to wake up. The doctor came over and readied a needle.

"This will help with the pain," he whispered to her as her eyes began to focus. She looked at the doctor and smiled as the pain in her side slowly began to retreat. Katara began to take in her surroundings.

"Where am I?" she wondered aloud, dreamily as the last vestiges of sleep still clung to her eyes and fogged her mind.

"My ship," came Zuko's gruff voice beside her. Grogginess was instantly banished, and she turned fearfully and tried to slide out of the other side of the bed, forgetting she was in no condition to fight. She was still weak and most of her clothes were on a chair across the room. Her top was carefully cut away by the doctor and from the shirt edge down were bandages covering her wound. "Stay where you are. I'm not going to hurt you." Her eyes, such blue eyes, were full of fear as she slid back under the sheets. She's only listening because of that fear, Zuko thought. Good.

"I'm sure you won't hurt me yet," Katara spat icily. "You haven't asked me where the Avatar is. That's all you want. But, guess what. I have absolutely no idea where he is!" Her voice had grown steadily louder and was full of strength by the end of her rant and she was almost yelling at the young prince. She fell back into the pillow, exhausted by the outburst.

He was slightly taken aback at her outburst. Not many people talk to him like that and it was not very pleasant. She spoke almost complete truth, with the exception of his hurting her. His mother had taught him better than that. But she doesn't need to know that, Zuko thought sinisterly. "How can you not know where he is, peasant? I thought you cared about him? And that idiot of a brother, too! I thought they were your friends and you seriously don't know where they are!"

The knowledge that she had been the weak link and let Aang be captured was too much for her. She felt like it was his fault that the boy monk was captured, her fault that the fate of the world would lie in ruins unless she found some way of getting him back. She didn't know where that lovable little boy or her sometimes genius of a brother were and it was tearing her up inside. Katara's eyes slowly began to water as she turned her face away from his and stared at her wringing hands. "Are you done torturing me?! I don't know where they are!" And tears began to flow from her eyes and she buried her face in her hands as she tried to quiet her sobs. That stupid prince hit me where it hurts and now he knows it, Katara thought miserably.

Zuko took an involuntary step backwards at the sight of the crying girl. He didn't know what to do. He had spent the last two years in the company of men. He came upon the occasional woman in a port city or crazy bounty hunters like Jun that came onto his ship and bothered him as they ripped up his craft, but none of them began to cry and yell at him. Even in the palace women and girls were either slapped out of their hysterics or held until they stopped on their own. But with her, he wasn't sure. She was his prisoner. He couldn't hold her. And he couldn't bring himself to hit her. Zuko was thoroughly confused and quietly backed out of the sickbay and decided to let her be the doctor's problem some more.

Insensitive prince, she thought angrily. He probably did that on purpose just so that I would know that he could get to me. But it won't work. And a new wave of tears came over her. The usually sensitive girl was in emotional overdrive, what with her best friend and brother being taken away and it was up to her to find them because if they tried to find her they could just be captured again. A very small part of her worried for her own safety as well, but concern for her little traveling family won out over something as trivial as herself.

After a few minutes she noticed the room was oddly quiet. No mocking. No badgering. Just the regular bumps and thuds of a regular Fire Navy ship. None of his annoying one-track mind bothering her about Aang. She wished she knew where he was. And Sokka, too. She hadn't seen them since the night the dagger was held to her throat and the masked Fire Nation woman threatened her. Aang shouldn't have come into the clearing. They would be together and she wouldn't have been stabbed. Escape became her foremost thought. With the idea of keeping her favorite boys safe, she became the slightest bit invigorated. Escape was her drive, motivating her to become as healthy as possible as quickly as possible.

The momentary vigor died down, and as she lay back, her tired eyes began to close and the doctor walked in to tend to her. Soon. I'll make my escape, very soon. And, with that, she again was asleep.

Personally I would have called him an insensitive clod but I think that's too British and it wouldn't have fit. If you have anything to say about my little story, just go ahead and say it. Flames, praise, whatever. I need something to build off of. Thanks for taking the time to read my author's notes and somehow I'll make it worth your while! I kind of think that Katara was a tad bit whiny. Zuko asks her one simple little thing and suddenly she breaks down crying. Sigh… Read and review please!!!