A/N: This is the chapter where everything comes together and becomes clearer. You'll find out how Zuko and Katara met, where Katara goes for help, and what she meant in the first chapter when she made a reference to her father. The parts in italics are all one memory, just spaced out to help the flow of the story. The parts not in italics are all one conversation between Katara and her mom, Kya, about her deceased dad, Hakoda. And remember, this is an AU. It's supposed to be different from the series.
As Katara drove away from her home for the past seven years, she made her second hardest decision of the day: Where did she go now?
She couldn't go stay at a friend's; Zuko hadn't let her have one of those in three years. "They can't understand the kind of relationship we have, babe," he had said after he'd made her delete all their numbers. "They'd never understand."
She couldn't go to Zuko's family. Not since he'd been disowned. And she didn't have any cousins, aunts, or uncles, either. That only left one person: her own mother, Kya.
The front door opened as she pulled in the familiar drive. Thank La it was her mother standing on the porch. Having not spoken to her since she ran off with Zuko seven years ago, Katara hadn't known for sure that her mom hadn't moved.
"Kat… Katara? Is that you, baby? And with a baby all your own? Come here; let your poor old mother look at you." Kya said as Kat climbed out of the car with Ursa.
"Mom? You're not mad? You're not mad at all?" Katara asked, confused, as she walked up and hugged her mother tightly.
"Baby, one thing you'll learn as this one gets older: you can't stay mad at your children for making choices you drove them to. I was hurt when you left; I cried for days, in fact. But I understood your decision. Let's get into the house. I just made coffee. We'll talk all about it in there. "
"Oh, Mo-," Kat started, but was cut off by her mother.
"Don't you dare stay you were just stopping by. I haven't seen you in years, damn it and we're drinking a pot of coffee, hell, maybe two, before you even think leaving again, you understand me?"
"Yes Ma'am," Katara replied, smiling. Her mom was so much more open then she had been. Kat was sorry it had taken her father's death for it to happen- she'd read in the paper four years ago that he'd fallen asleep at the wheel on his way home from a bar and driven off a bridge. He had been killed on impact. Katara had sent flowers but hadn't gone to the funeral or signed the card in the bouquet; she'd ran away from one hell hole into another because of him, and wasn't that upset he was dead. She sure as hell hadn't cried about it- but she was glad her mother was happy, finally.
Following her mother into the house she once called home, she noticed that not much had changed: the same pictures hung on the walls, the same coat rack sat in the corner of the foyer, and the same worn rug covered the hard wood in front of the door. But, for some reason, the whole place felt lighter, like some great oppressive force had been removed.
Moving from the entry way into the kitchen, Katara pulled down two cups and poured coffee for her mother and herself. She sat Ursa in Kya's lap and handed her her coffee.
"And what is this precious baby girls name?" said Kya in a baby voice.
"Her name's Ursa, after Zuko's mother," Katara said with a smile. Her mom looked so happy holding her granddaughter.
"That's a beautiful name. Now, enough chatter. I haven't heard from you in seven years and you just show up? It's not that I'm not happy to see you- I'm ecstatic, actually- but something happened, didn't it?"
This was the part Katara had been dreading. Having to explain to her mother how much she regretted leaving the way she did, how her marriage was a failure, how much it hurt to think about what she had to do, even after everything Zuko had done.
"Can I ask you a question first, Mom?" Katara hesitantly asked.
"Of course, babe."
"Why didn't you ever leave Dad? After everything he did to us?"
"Now, Katara, We're not here to talk about me, we're talking abou-"
She was cut off by her daughter. "Just answer this one question, Mom, and I'll try to explain everything after that."
Seven years earlier, in the emergency room
"What? What do you mean; you don't think she tripped down the steps, again?" Katara's father was yelling at the orderly behind the desk.
"Sir, all I'm saying is that it's rather odd for a fifteen year old girl to break her arm three times in two years by falling down the stairs," the orderly stammered.
"Of course it's odd, you dipshit! That's always the excuse he feeds you people!" Katara thought from chair in the crowded waiting room after she got her arm X-rayed and put in a sling.
"I would like to speak with your supervisor ... Clint," Katara's dad dictated, reading the orderly's name tag.
"Yes sir, Mr.…?"
"Icewing. Hakoda Icewing."
"Right this way, Mr. Icewing," Clint said, standing.
"After you, Clint. Katara, you stay right here, got it?" he said icily.
"Yes, sir," Katara said wearily, watching her father walk off to make someone else's life miserable. Sighing, Katara leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes.
"Katara, it's complicated," Kya implored.
"Mom, I can handle it. I have to know to help me make my decisions," Katara replied.
Kya relented. "I loved him, okay? With all my heart and soul, I loved that man. And when you love someone that deeply, you have a tendency to overlook their faults, no matter how painfully glaring they are."
"Um… Is this seat taken?"
Katara opened her eyes to one of the most handsome young man she'd ever seen. Shaggy raven hair, porcelain skin, amber eyes, chiseled features, broad shoulders, and at at least six' four, he was Katara's dream. Except for the large bandage covering his left eye. "I wonder what happened," she thought.
"I'll take that as a yes," the gorgeous boy before her stated.
Realizing she had been gawking, Katara spoke up, "No, it's not taken."
"Okay then…" he said, sitting down in the empty seat next to her. " What are you in for?" he asked jokingly.
"Apparently, I "fell down the stairs" again," she replied crossly.
"You loved him enough to stay with him, even after he hurt us?" Katara questioned.
"I was weak. I am so sorry, Katara. I should have left him. I know I can't make it up to you, but I am so sorry," Kya said softly as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"It's okay, Mom. He can't hurt us anymore," Katara said, hugging her mother as tears of her own escaped from her eyes.
"Apparently…?" the stranger wondered, raising an eyebrow, his curiosity peaking.
"Yes, my father thinks it's fun t- Wait. Why would I tell you? I don't even know your name."
"Oh. Well then. My name is Zuko Tatsu, and your father thinks its fun to…?" he queried.
"I can't tell you that. I shouldn't have said anything. Just forget it," she pleaded, sinking farther down in her chair.
"Hey …?"
"Katara," she filled in for him.
"Katara. I have to ask you a very serious question. Would you… like to go get some ice cream with me?" Zuko asked, grinning for the first time.
"I can see your bruises, on your face and arms, and I bet you have many more under your clothes. So, tell me this, Katara: Does Zuko beat you?" Kya asked her daughter worriedly.
"Mom, it's more complicated than that. I have to think about Ursa and-"
"Babe, I've been there. I know it's complicated. But I need you to answer the question," Kya begged.
"Mom, I-"
"Yes or no?"
"Mom. He saved me from this hell, right here," Katara said, waving her arms around the room.
Katara mocked having a hard time deciding; "Well… I don't know… Dad said I had to stay right here, so…Hell Yeah! Let's go!" So off the two teens walked, out of the hospital and down the street.
"Mill's sound good to you?" Zuko questioned as they neared Mill's dairy and drive-thru.
"Mill's is my favorite! Come on!" Katara exclaimed, racing down the sidewalk to her favorite eatery.
Zuko chuckled at her enthusiasm. Most girls didn't light up over small things like that. But then again, most girls didn't get their arms broken by their abusive fathers. She hadn't told him, but he could tell: the way she avoided questions, was wary of strangers, the way she was so eager to leave- these actions told him what he knew she would never say. He'd been there, and he knew the signs. So he had decided to give her a break from her hell. "And maybe get her number in the process," he thought slyly, smirking.
Following her into the ice cream parlor, he slid into a red booth seat across from her. "So what'll it be, Kat?"
"Kat?" she inquired, jokingly. "Since when do you get to call me "Kat"?"
"Since I decided I liked the sound of it."Zuko stated matter-of-factly. "Now, what would you like?"
Katara giggled at his straightforwardness. It was kinda cute, in an I-am-the-man kind of way. "I would love a vanilla malt, Zuzu." She said kiddingly.
"Zuzu?" he mocked. "Since when do you call me "Zuzu"?"
"Since I decided it sounded cute. Now…"
The rest of their afternoon passed by like this, like they had known each other their whole lives. Until Katara's dad walked in.
"I thought I told you to stay right there," he seethed, grabbing Katara tightly by the wrist and pulling her towards the parking lot. She didn't struggle. She'd learned long ago that struggling only caused her more pain in the long run. She heard the glass door of Mill's swing open wide.
"Let her go! Now!" Zuko yelled.
"Zuko, please just shut up! You'll only get me in more trouble!" Katara thought, trying (unsuccessfully) to send him the message subliminally.
"I won't let you hurt her!"
"Oh, how sweet," Hakoda said in a disgusted tone, turning his daughter to face him. "How much did he pay you, you filthy whore?"
"Dad, we didn't do anything! Please, believe me!" Katara begged.
"You didn't do anything? You didn't do ANYTHING! HOW STUPID DO YOU THINK I AM, KATARA. YOU'RE A FILTHY LITTLE SLUT, YOU KNOW THAT? A . SL-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence. Zuko had laid him out on the pavement. "Let's go, before he wakes up," Zuko stated calmly.
"Let's go? GO WHERE!? YOU KNOCKED OUT MY FATHER! MY ASS IS GRASS, AND YOURS IS, TOO, WHEN HE WAKES UP!"
Zuko didn't even bat an eye at her fit. "You can stay at my place. We'll run by your house and get your things tomorrow. But I WILL NOT stand by and watch you walk back into that," he said seriously, pointing at her unconscious father. "I can't stand back and know that you got hurt because I talked to you."
"Why did you do that? You don't know me. I could deserve it, for all you know," Katara spoke sadly.
"Don't you ever say that again. I may not have known you very long, but I do know that no one deserves to be abused. No one."
"That's all very well and good, Katara, but he's brought you into a new one. I know it's hard to believe, but people change because of their experiences, and it's not always for the better."
Every time you leave a review, a Zutara shipper is born.
P.S.
Current ages of characters:
Katara: 23
Zuko: 24
Kya: 45
Ursa: 1 ½
I'm thinking about putting Sokka in this story, but I want your opinion first.
And yes, I know this chapter is longer than the other three combined, but there was a lot of information that needed to go in this one.