Author's note: Several readers have recently asked questions about shipping, which I really don't want to answer at this time. My original ideas about relationships in this story have shifted slightly, and I'd rather not give anything away.

So for anyone wondering if this series will be a 'Zutara', a 'Katang', or a whatever-else-there-is, all I can say is…you'll just have to keep reading and find out. (sorry!)

And now…back to the 'show'.

"Jet!" gasped Katara, "you're alive!"

An instant later, she had her arms around him in a hug, as if to reassure herself that it was no hallucination. Aang and Sokka were still gaping in disbelief, while Iroh and Zuko exchanged uneasy glances.

Zuko looked back to the 'newcomer', somewhat disturbed by the fact that Aang and the others apparently knew Jet quite well, and the two teenage boys locked eyes for the briefest of moments. It was just long enough to establish a mutual distrust before Jet broke off the silent exchange with an almost triumphant smirk as he returned Katara's embrace.

"I told you'd I'd be fine," Jet said lightly as the two stepped away from each other.

"I guess you really are tougher than you look," remarked Sokka affably as he clasped Jet's forearm in a warrior's handshake.

"It's good to see you again, Jet," added Aang earnestly.

"How did you find us?" asked Katara.

"Dumb luck, actually," he replied with a shrug. "I heard a commotion as I was passing by. I came to check it out and found you guys." Jet looked around at the three with a warm smile before turning his gaze toward Iroh and Zuko as if noticing them for the first time.

"It looks like the rumors that you added a couple more to your group were true," he remarked offhandedly to Aang before fixing a pointed stare on Zuko. "So how's it going…Lee?"

"Hello, Jet," Zuko answered coldly, crossing his arms imposingly.

Aang and the others glanced from one teen to the other in shock, which quickly turned to apprehension as they noticed the obvious friction between them.

"Wait…you guys know each other?" asked Sokka.

"Yeah," drawled the former Freedom Fighter in a casual tone that belied the hostility rippling through the air, "it's an interesting story actually-"

"That we don't have time for," interrupted Zuko, flicking his gaze meaningfully to the still unconscious earth bender as he uncrossed his arms.

Suddenly reminded of the serious problem at hand, all eyes fell on Toph, and Jet's brow furrowed in concern.

"What happened to Toph?" he asked worriedly, stepping forward to kneel down next to her, checking her over for wounds.

"I wish we knew," Katara replied, coming up behind him. "She just…fainted; right before you arrived."

A moment later Jet stood back up, his face grim as he held out a small, red and black dart; tiny enough to have easily gone unnoticed during the initial confusion when she'd been brought into camp.

"Fire Nation dart," he announced chillingly, allowing Iroh to take it from him, the older man examining it carefully as Jet added, "Poisoned, no doubt."

"Posion?" gasped Katara, "but…why Toph? Aang was right there."

"For all we know," reasoned Sokka, "they could have been aiming for Aang, and ran off when they hit her by mistake."

"No one trained to use that would have missed," observed Zuko ominously.

"He's right," agreed Jet straightforwardly, "it's more likely they're just using Toph as a distraction while they marshal an attack."

"But Toph would have sensed anyone coming," Sokka argued.

"She may have, actually," said Aang, remembering the events leading up to her collapse. "Right before she went down, Toph told me to stop...and she looked like she was trying to 'see' something."

"Then you guys should get out of here," Jet advised, "before they come back in force. There's an abandoned temple to the south, near the hills. It would be a good place to lay low until they give up and leave the area."

"What about Toph?" Aang asked anxiously. "She still needs help."

Jet let out a short whistle before answering.

"I'll take care of Toph," he offered, as an ostrich-horse broke through the underbrush and walked into the camp. "I stopped at a healer yesterday; it's not far from here."

"You went to a healer?" interjected Katara with a note of concern.

"Yeah," Jet replied sheepishly as he rubbed his ribs, "I've become acquainted with just about every infirmary, herbalist, and healer between here and Ba Sing Se."

"Oh," she responded, hanging her head contritely, "of course."

"Anyway," he continued, coaxing his mount into a sitting position near Toph, "I'm sure someone there will know what to do for her."

Aang, Katara, and Iroh began breaking down the camp and loading things up into Appa's saddle, while Sokka helped ease Toph onto the ostrich-horse. Only Zuko made no move to do anything, instead watching Jet with a dark scowl.

"We'll meet you at the ruins as soon as we can," Jet said as he settled in behind his unresponsive charge and gently nudged his steed to its feet.

Zuko grabbed the beast by the bridle.

"One of us will go with you," he stated in a tone of voice that clearly indicated it was no suggestion.

At this, the others paused what they were doing to look at him in mild astonishment, and once again, the tension between the two young men was almost tangible.

"As much as I'd like the back-up," Jet replied indifferently, "there's only room for two, and someone on foot would just slow us down. Don't worry," he added, "I'll make sure nothing happens to her."

With that, Jet snapped the reins, yanking the bridle from Zuko's grasp, and then spurred the animal forward. The prince continued to frown as they rode away, and Iroh came up behind him, gently laying a hand on his nephew's shoulder while the other three purposefully busied themselves with their tasks.

"I'm sure she will be fine," Iroh said reassuringly, earning him an uncertain and worried backward glance from Zuko. "If the others trust him, then so should we."

Zuko's scowl deepened at his last statement, and he pulled away sharply, bending down to pick up Toph's teacup.

"Trust him if you want," he said coldly, "but I don't intend to."

The flight to the ruins was tense and silent. Aang's concentration was focused on guiding Appa through the dense forest, having decided that they should stay off the ground to avoid leaving a trail, but fly below the treetops so they would not be spotted. Sokka ate his breakfast in the saddle, while Katara fretted about Toph and Jet. Iroh watched Zuko anxiously as the young prince brooded angrily the entire trip.

As soon as they landed, Zuko jumped down from the saddle to scout the area in Toph's absence, and Sokka waited until he was sure the prince was out of earshot before turning to Iroh.

"Okay, so exactly how do you guys know Jet?" he finally asked. Iroh sighed as he unpacked his teapot and began his tale.

"We met him on the ferry to Ba Sing Se…"

Late afternoon had begun to give way to twilight and Iroh had long since finished telling the others about their encounters with Jet, but Zuko still had not returned. At last, he walked into the camp, his countenance foreboding.

"There you are," said Iroh with a sense of relief. "We were beginning to worry."

"There's no water here," Zuko announced grimly. "The stream is dry and the well looks to have been filled in ages ago."

"We still have several canteens on Appa," Katara responded reassuringly, "plenty to cook with."

"Dinner isn't the problem," he retorted with a meaningful look at the water pouch she carried. "If we're attacked, that's all you have."

Katara blinked in surprise, uncertain if she should feel touched or annoyed by what seemed to be a valid concern for her ability to defend herself. Truthfully, she was so accustomed to using what she had on hand that it never even occurred to her to seek out larger sources of water in order to gain an advantage. But obviously, Zuko had and for some reason, that realization left her with a strange sense of awe.

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Aang stated optimistically. "Jet seemed to think this was a good place to hide. No one is likely to find us."

"Just the same," countered Zuko, "we should look for a better place."

"Except that Jet will be bringing Toph here," argued Katara.

"If he even brings her back," muttered Zuko under his breath.

As if in answer to his fears, Jet suddenly startled them all when he rode into the temple courtyard where they were camped and dismounted. He was alone.

"Where's Toph?" demanded the prince in a low accusatory growl, moving toward the other teen menacingly.

Jet looked from Zuko's dangerous scowl to the worried faces of the others and held up a placating hand.

"She's fine," he soothed, "the healers say she should be better in a few days, and insisted she stay there. I thought it best to come back so you wouldn't worry."

"Well now that you're here, we should leave," Zuko stated bluntly.

"Leave? Why?" asked Jet in bewilderment.

"There's no water here," he answered pointedly.

"Really?" marveled Jet guilelessly, "there should have been a stream…"

"It ran dry," interjected Katara kindly, trying to diffuse what looked to be a confrontation brewing between the two boys. "And if we get attacked, the only water I have is my flask."

Jet turned a charming smile onto the water bender.

"I think you're pretty dangerous just with that," he said silkily. Katara blushed slightly at the praise and was about to stammer out a reply when Zuko interrupted.

"But she's a far more formidable opponent when she has more to work with."

At this, the other boy fixed a pair of steely, narrowed eyes on Zuko.

"I suppose you know that from first hand experience," he remarked flippantly, but there was a cold edge to his voice.

Furious, the prince strode forward, smoke curling from the tightly balled fists at his side. He looked ready to deck the teen, but Aang stepped between them.

"Come on, guys," he said calmingly, ignoring the icy glares shooting over his head. "We're all worried about Toph and it's been a long day. We can find a better camp tomorrow, but for now let's all just try to get along."

For one agonizingly long moment, neither of the young men said anything, and the others feared that a fight would break out despite Aang's intervention. But then, without a word, Zuko brushed past them both, stalking away toward the broken temple gates and the tension in the air slowly dissipated.

Everyone went awkwardly back to setting up camp for the night, but as Katara opened her bag to pull out a blanket, her eyes fell on Zuko's neatly packed gear next to hers. She glanced over toward the woods and spotted the prince perched on the remains of a damaged outer wall, his back to the camp as he kept vigilant watch for any sign of intruders.

Looking back to the bag, she let out a short sigh and started setting up his bedroll as well. But somehow, she had a feeling that he wouldn't be sleeping tonight.

Katara dropped from her stance with a frustrated sigh. She'd been trying for over an hour to pull up water from the dilapidated well, using the rising moon to augment her bending, all with no success. Wearily, she sat down on a nearby pile of rubble.

"Still no luck?" asked Jet as he stepped from the shadows into the moonlit yard.

"No," she answered glumly. "I thought that once Aang cleared out the debris, I might be able to get something, but…there's not a drop of water to be found."

"I didn't realize you were so worried about it," he said apologetically as he took a seat beside her.

"I'm not…not really," Katara admitted, "but Zuko made a good point. I can do more when I have more to work with."

"Maybe," he said with a shrug, "but I think he just doesn't give you enough credit." Then, looking at her with an almost sensual gaze, he added softly, "You're an amazing bender."

"Thanks," she replied, blushing slightly as she looked away.

As the color faded from her cheeks, Katara's expression grew pensive. Seeing it, Jet placed a hand over hers.

"What is it?"

"It's just…" Her voice was tight with restrained emotion, as she struggled to speak, the words obviously painful. "We thought you were dead," she whispered.

"For a while there, I thought I was too," Jet confessed. "But I couldn't let the last thing I told you be a lie."

He cupped her face in his hand, turning her face to him as he leaned in toward her. Her eyes widened when she realized what was about to happen, and she took in a short breath, holding it as his mouth came closer to hers.

"You're worth living for," he murmured, and he closed the distance between them.

But in the last instant before their lips met, a loud, chirping croon erupted from between them. Momo's face popped into view and they jerked apart, the moment shattered. They blinked in surprise as the little lemur looked inquisitively from one to the other. Katara let out the lungful of air she'd been harboring and abruptly got to her feet.

"I should…go take Zuko something to eat," she said with awkward briskness as she backed away. "He didn't join us for dinner."

Without another word, she hurried away, leaving Jet with a bewildered lemur on his lap. He looked at the creature with a petulant frown.

"Thanks a lot."

Momo merely purred in reply.