Hey, sorry for the delay, but I've been busy. Three large reports and another cold. And snow!!!!! It was so wonderful. As usual, we got out of school, but we had a lot of snow this time. Everything was all white and my dogs went crazy, rolling around in the snow and what not. Well, here's the chapter, finally. Hope you like it.

Chapter Fourteen

"Katara?"

The lip-locked benders hastily moved away from each other. Katara smiled sheepishly. "Hey, Aang. We were wondering when you were going to find us."

Toph, who knew the two had been rather close, laughed. "Ha. It looked as if you were thinking of someone else entirely, Sugar Queen."

Katara blushed and looked at Aang, as if to explain. And then she saw that Aang was holding Toph's hand. "Ha right back, Toph. Looks like you guys weren't really looking for us."

Aang grinned and turned to Zuko. "Are you going to let us have Katara?" he asked.

Zuko glanced at Katara, suddenly shy. "Well, I thought that my uncle and I could…well…" he trailed off and pleaded silently to Katara for help.

Thankfully, she took the hint. "Listen, Aang…Zuko and his uncle want to come with us…so that you can learn firebending."

"Katara, he…"

The waterbender moved closer and placed a hand on Aang's arm. "I know. But he really wants to help us, Aang. Everyone deserves a second chance."

"Yeah, but this wouldn't be his second chance, would it?" Everyone turned to Toph. "From what I've heard, he's been given dozens of chances and he turned you down each time. What makes this any different?"

Katara really didn't have an answer for that. She shook her head and stepped back. "I don't know," she whispered.

"I've changed, for the better," Zuko said softly. "I know my father's never going to accept me, and I know that this war has to stop." He looked away. "I've seen how ruthless he can be, even with his own people. He needs to be stopped." Zuko looked up at Aang, fire blazing in his golden eyes. "Azula, too."

The Avatar was quiet a moment and then nodded. "Okay."

Zuko stepped back. "What?"

"I said okay. I need to learn firebending if I ever want to defeat the Fire Lord, and I have to learn before the end of the summer. This seems the best way to do it."

Katara smiled and hugged Aang, not noticing the dark look Zuko sent their way. "Thanks, Aang. Now all we have to do is go and get Uncle Iroh. I'm sure he's a bit anxious. And, now that you and Toph are here, I'm sure we can get back across the channel."

The three friends turned and began to leave. Katara glanced over her shoulder and gave Zuko a brilliant smile. "Come on. You're uncle must be worried."

Katara couldn't have been farther from the truth. In fact, Iroh was quite content to leave the two teens alone for a bit longer. Katara would be good for his nephew.

Iroh was sitting calmly in the cave, sipping a cup of ginseng tea and thinking about nothing in particular when he was interrupted. Zuko, Katara, Aang, and the Avatar stood at the entrance of the cave.

"Uncle?"

Iroh took another sip of tea. "Yes, Nephew?"

"What are you doing?"

Iroh smiled. "Drinking tea, of course." He motioned to the fire. "Come in and have some. The night is just a bit chilly, isn't it? Some tea will warm you up."

His uncle was crazy. Absolutely crazy. Here he and Katara had charged in with the Avatar and his Uncle acted as if it was nothing more than the wind.

"We would love some tea, sir," Aang said, stepping into the cave, "but we have to get back to the others. They'll be waiting."

Katara turned to Aang and frowned. "Others?" she echoed.

"Seems like our favorite acrobat has decided to join us, Sugar Queen," Toph said. "But don't worry; Sokka's got it covered."

Katara groaned. "Great. We'll come back and he'll be snoring and Ty Lee will be gone. Wonderful."

"Actually," Aang put in, "they seem to be getting along."

A small laugh came from Katara and Zuko unconsciously smiled. "That's new. I'm surprised he didn't drive her off."

As the three friends were talking amongst themselves, Iroh looked quizzically up at Zuko.

"They're going to let us travel with them, Uncle."

Iroh nodded and stood, putting out the fire. "This is good news, Nephew."

Suddenly, Katara stilled. "Oh no."

"What is it?" Zuko asked.

"Sokka. He's not going to accept you so easily. In fact, he'll probably attack you."

"That is a problem, Katara," Aang said worriedly.

Toph, however, laughed. "Not if Ty Lee is still there."

Katara grinned. "Is it that bad, Toph?"

"They seemed pretty close before Aang and I left. They were laughing."

"Maybe he won't notice," Katara remarked, laughing.

Aang and Zuko exchanged confused looks. "Do you know what they're talking about?" the banished prince asked.

Aang shrugged. "No idea."

By that time, Iroh had finished his tea and was ready to go. "We must hurry if we want to get there before morning," he said. Though his words weren't loud, everyone stopped talking. "I, for one, am rather tired. Sleep would do us all good." He glanced towards Zuko. "It gives us the opportunity to listen to our deepest selves."

"Uncle…"

Katara took hold of Zuko's arm. "Come on," she said, pulling him out of the cave. "I'm tired and everyone else probably is, too."

That got his attention. He turned a concerned gaze to the cut on her forehead. "But you slept all day, Katara."

She smiled. "Yeah, but our game wore me out."

Zuko's heart began to beat faster and he turned away. "What about your brother?"

Katara laughed. "I'll deal with him. Sokka might seem like a dumb klutz, but he's smart." She headed off after the others. "He'll listen…after a while. He may not like it, but at least he won't try to murder you in your sleep."

Zuko followed her out of the cave. "That's comforting."

Sokka collapsed to the ground, exhausted from all the learning. "Can we stop now?" he asked, his voice squeaking.

Ty Lee giggled. "Sure. But we'll do this tomorrow, too, okay?"

Sokka waved a hand and closed his eyes. "Sure. Whatever you want."

The Fire Nation girl shook her head. "You want your sleeping bag or anything?" she asked.

"Na…" Sokka opened his eyes. "Where are Toph and Aang?"

Ty Lee shrugged. "I think they went off to practice, too."

Sokka closed his eyes again. "Oh. Okay." After a moment, he was asleep and snoring.

Ty Lee shook her head and put another log on the fire. Her hand went to a small pouch at her side and she glanced at Sokka's sleeping form. She really liked Sokka and his friends. But Azula was her friend. She couldn't help but think she was doing something wrong. Her hand snaked into the pouch and she was just about to get some powder when she heard some rustling in the bushes. Quickly, Ty Lee closed the pouch and readied herself to defend Sokka.

Aang and the others appeared from the bushes and Ty Lee stood, frowning. Zuko and Iroh were walking peacefully with the Avatar. Suddenly, the Water Tribe girl laughed.

"I knew he'd be asleep," she said, glancing towards Sokka. "And I bet there's nothing to eat, either."

At that moment, Sokka rolled over and muttered in his sleep, "girl work."

Katara screamed and, much to everyone's amazement, kicked her brother. "Girls' work?" she yelled as he began to wake up. "Girls' work? What do you mean? I have half a mind to make you cook breakfast tomorrow!"

"But Katara," Aang said, "that's not fair! We didn't do anything wrong."

Sokka sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Katara…" He trailed off as he spotted Zuko. He jumped up, reaching for his boomerang. "What is HE doing here!?"

Katara grabbed Sokka before he could lunge at Zuko. "He's here to help Aang, Sokka."

"Help Aang to walk right into a trap, you mean!"

"No, Sokka. He's changed."

"You thought that before and look what happened! Aang nearly died, Katara!"

She flinched and her arms dropped.

Noticing the action, Sokka looked down at his sister's hurt face. "I'm sorry Katara," he said softly, "but we can't trust him."

"You don't have to trust him, Sokka, but he is coming with us."

Zuko, knowing not to interfere, turned and began helping his Uncle set up for the night.

"All right," Sokka agreed grudgingly. He glared at Zuko. "I'll be watching you. If you make one wrong move, I'll hurt you."

"Fair enough," Zuko said.

Katara turned and gave him an encouraging smile and then looked back at her brother. "Come on, we should get some sleep. If it makes you feel any better, you can stay up and keep watch."

As much as he wanted to bother Zuko, Sokka was really tired. But, as everyone got ready for bed, he made a big show of staying up. Only when everyone had dropped off to sleep did he let his guard down. He didn't trust Zuko and he would make sure that the firebender wouldn't have the opportunity to do anything.

Another chapter done. My chapters will probably come slower, but hopefully you'll like them. Okay. You know the drill. Please review!