AN: I originally wasn't going to do a continuation of this, but a few reviewers said they were interested in one and I got a couple 'story alerts', so of course I'm happy to do it.

So, in this chapter, Azula and her mother return to the palace. Zuko wonders whether she'll be able to handle being back in her old home. She may have been forgiven, but life will never be the same for her. And then to Zuko's dismay, the avatar and his friends stop by for a visit! The elements clash in an awkward reunion.

Healing for Azula, Pt. 2

Zuko stood nervously outside the front door of the palace. He was finally going to see his mother and Azula again. After spending a week at his mother's home, he felt that he needed to go back home. As the fire lord, he had tumultuous amounts of work to do, especially now that the war was over and the world needed rebuilding. He couldn't afford to take too much time off, not even for his mother. As for Azula, she stayed with their mother. He felt that it would be best if she spent her initial recovery time somewhere far away and secluded-not the palace where the avatar frequently visited. But it had been nearly a month now, and he felt the time was right for his family to move in.

He spotted them walking up the staircase, hand in hand. Zuko's insides warmed. His family was finally home again. His mother was finally going to live in her rightful home. As for Azula…He was nervous as to how she would adapt. She would be home again, but her position there would never be the same. She wouldn't be the all-powerful one; she would just be the little sister. But, she would still be treated like the princess that she was- Zuko would make sure of that.

"Mother! Azula!" he ran and hugged them once they were close enough. He could feel his mother hug him tightly. Azula didn't really hug him, but merely set her arms on him. At least her arms moved- that was an improvement from when he left her. Azula pulled away from him quickly and stared at him, looking amused. Looking at her sweetly, his mother grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. Azula pouted and looked away, but squeezed her hand back.

They walked into the palace and he showed his mother to her room. Azula already knew where hers was.

"My room better be just how I left it!" she mumbled sinisterly as she set off down a hallway. He led his mother down another one.

"Will she be ok by herself?" he asked his mother.

"What do you mean?"

"She's not going to…do anything bad, is she?" She paused.

"Let's hope not," she said with a smirk. Zuko wasn't too pleased with that answer. He showed her to her room quickly and set off for Azula's room, desperately hoping everything would be…not burnt to a crisp.

He reached her room and found her sitting on her bed staring at her closet. He guessed she was staring at her armor, the clothes she wore while fighting. He liked her better in her dark red robes. He sat next to her on the bed and grabbed her hand, just as mother had. He expected her to pull it away, but to his surprise she didn't.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me," she said quietly. Zuko guessed that it pained her to say that. Azula didn't thank anybody- ever. But then again, Azula was changing.

"You're welcome."

"After all I've done to you…you've done this for me. You could've thrown me in jail to rot, or even had me killed…but you've done all of this."

"You're my sister…." She sighed, wearing a face expression that was familiar to him. It was one of…superiority.

"I never thought I'd saw this, dear Zuzu, but…I'm actually in your debt." Zuko smiled. Even when she was grateful to him, she managed to insult him. And he still hated that nickname. Today he didn't mind it though. That meant she was getting some of her old personality back. But hopefully that didn't mean her old ways would return to her as well.

"How can I ever repay you? How can I make it so you'll never regret doing this for me?"

"Saying thank you is enough. But… there will be some restrictions on you," he knew this could be a difficult subject to talk about and that Azula might not take it well, so Zuko did his best to sound assertive.

"Please don't take my fire bending away!" she grabbed his shirt. She looked desperate.

"That is what the avatar wants as punishment for you."

"You didn't agree, did you?"

"I told him that I would give you a chance to keep your fire bending. I will have rules for you, Azula. If you break them, you will have your fire bending taken away. If you follow them, you will be safe. Same goes for your possible jail sentence. If you break the rules I have given you, you will be sentenced to prison."

"What are these rules?"

"It's very simple. One: from now on you may only use fire bending for sparring, training, and domestic purposes. You will never hurt or control anyone with your fire bending again. Two: you will not be given any position of power within this palace within the next ten years. If you prove yourself worthy, job openings will be available to you."

Zuko expected Azula to have an outburst of complaints. Under their father's rule she had so much, and now she would have so little. However, she jumped up off the bed and threw her hands up in the air. She seemed to be celebrating.

"Thank you Zuko! I mean, not being fire lord is disappointing, yes, but… even I know when to be grateful!" she sighed defeated.

That was exactly the response Zuko wanted to hear…well, almost. He never would've expected it her to agree to it so easily. She did have a point, though; he could've thrown her in prison.

After a while he left her to herself. He went to see his mother. He wanted to catch up with her and ask her about Azula. He found her in her new room unpacking her things.

"Hello mother."

"Hi Zuko. This palace is as beautiful as I remember it. I'm so happy to be able to live here again."

He chatted with her for a while, and then decided to ask about Azula.

"How was the month with Azula?" His mother smiled at him.

"It was fine. She became a little outgoing a week or so after you left. I think…she's still unsure of herself, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Her heart's in the right place…but she still needs our help," she placed a hand on Zuko's. Just then a servant called out to them from the doorway. A large man stood outside their room.

"What is it?"

"The avatar and his friends are here. They wish to see you." Zuko's stomach dropped. He liked seeing the avatar and his friends, but this was the last thing he wanted right then-not with Azula there. He quickly walked down the hallway to see them. Much to his distaste, everybody was there: Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Suki. He didn't know how they would react to Azula, but on the other hand, he was still glad to see them.

"Hi Zuko!" Aang chirped happily.

"Uh..Hi Aang. So what are you guys doing here?"

"Visiting of course! We're here for a couple days, so we thought we'd stop by." Sokka cheered.

"Cool…come on in, I guess…" They had all of their bags with them, s he led them down a few hallways towards the guest rooms.

"So can we stay for dinner?" Sokka asked, rubbing his stomach. They all looked at him hopefully.

"Um- actually, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" Katara asked, sounding offended.

"Well, you see-"

"Azula!" Katara yelled, pointing a tanned finger right at her. Azula was walking towards them. She stopped in her tracks.

"What is she doing here?!" Aang asked, getting in what looked to Zuko like a fighting stance. Azula just stood there with her arms crossed.

"I LIVE here! And I'm about to get something to eat!" she said loudly and attempted to walk past them. Katara, however, grabbed her by the arm and stopped her.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" she yelled. Katara, still grabbing her arm, turned to Zuko.

"What is this, Zuko? Why is she here?"

"She lives here. Please let go of her." Katara looked furious. All of their faces did except the avatar, who looked thoughtful.

"So you're just letting her parade around the palace again? You're just letting her live here as the princess like she did nothing wrong?! She tried to kill all of us and would have seen the world destroyed and laughed! You can't forgive her and not even give her any punishment!"

"Whether she is punished or not is my decision," Zuko said as calmly, but as assertively as possible.

"Let go of me!" Azula yelled, but Katara did not let go. Azula tried to peel her hand off, but Katara's grip was too strong.

"So you have decided against my punishment for her?" Aang asked him. His voice had no anger in it.

"I am giving her a chance to avoid punishment. However, if she does not follow a list of rules and restraints I have given her, she will be given punishment."

"How can you go that easy on her? After all she's done?" Katara yelled. "She would've had you killed-"

"Enough! I am well aware of what she's done. I'll say it once more: whether she is punished or not is my decision. You will all respect my decision for her and you will all treat her with kindness. I am not asking you to be friends with her, but you will not mistreat her. If you do, you will leave this palace." Zuko wondered whether being so stern with them was the right thing to do. They saved his life from Azula a dozen times, and now he was siding with her against them. The circumstances were different now, but they didn't see that. They didn't see what he saw in Azula. They just saw a wretch and a murderer. He saw his little sister who was in desperate need of help.

He looked around at everybody. Aang, Toph, and Suki all looked calm. They nodded their heads, which Zuko appreciated greatly. Sokka looked…dazed. He was staring at Azula. Azula's face shocked him. Her eyes were filled with tears. This was most unlike her. As soon as he looked at her, she turned away from him. When he saw her face again, it was back to normal. He then looked at Katara, who still looked furious.

"I think you'll regret this Zuko!" Katara yelled. She turned towards Azula.

"Katara don't!" Aang yelled. She raised her hand to slap Azula, but Azula caught Katara's hand and held onto it.

"Listen, water peasant," she hissed, "Unless you want me to burn your skin black, I suggest you let go of me." Katara stared angrily at her for a second, but then suddenly yelled and pulled away. A red mark the size of a handprint was burned into her arm. Katara winced in pain, but Azula suddenly looked scared.

"Zuko, it was an accident! I wasn't really going to do it! Don't take my fire bending away, I won't do it again!" Katara looked at Zuko triumphantly.

"See! See what a monster she is! See why you should punish her?" They all stared at Zuko.

"I see no reason to punish her for self defense," as he said this, he sincerely hoped he was making the right decision in defending Azula. He just hoped he wouldn't regret this later.

"You will regret this, Zuko," she said and walked off towards the exit of the palace. Toph and Suki immediately followed. Aang and Sokka hesitated.

"I think you're doing the right thing in showing compassion," Aang smiled at the both of them. Zuko sighed in relief. He was so glad somebody agreed with him. "However," he turned to Azula, "there are a lot of people who are angry with the things you've done, Azula. Maybe you should consider apologizing and doing some community service in the places you've damaged."

"Community service?! Me? A princess?"

"Yes. People will feel justified and be more likely to forgive you if you've done some good deeds. And people, like Katara, will be more likely to forgive you if they think you've received some type of 'punishment'."

"No way!" Azula looked disgusted with the idea.

"I think that's a great idea!" Zuko chimed.

"What?!" Azula looked angry. Zuko and Aang insisted on the idea. She protested heatedly at first, but eventually she just went to crossing her arms and mumbling curses at them. Zuko took that as accepting it. Aang bowed to them both. Zuko bowed back fully, truly appreciating the avatar's ideas and compassion towards Azula. Azula, however, merely put her hands to together and nodded her head weakly. He could imagine that it was really awkward for her. Now only Sokka was left.

"Uh…"he started, his face flushed.

"What?" Azula snapped. Maybe staring at him reminded her of Katara.

"Sorry about my sister. I'm not saying she doesn't have a right to be angry at you, because she has every right too. But…she…"

"Yes?! God, take all day why don't you?"

"She, uh…I like your robes! Uh- they're pretty!" she said awkwardly and walked away. The two of them were alone now. There was a moment of silence.

"Well that was interesting," she said to him. "Especially that water peasant."

"Katara?"

"No, the boy! Who'd have thought he'd be so taken with me?" she said smugly. Zuko laughed. He suddenly noticed Azula's robes had loosened. A huge amount of cleavage was showing, so much so that if her robes had parted a few inches more, her nipples would have been exposed.

"What the hell are you staring at?" Azula growled, but when she looked down, she gasped. Zuko laughed the hardest he had in a long time. That whole encounter with the avatar's group suddenly was worth it for that moment. With anybody else it might not have been that funny, but for Azula of all people to be caught so off guard was just hilarious. Azula snarled at him and started to walk away, but Zuko asked her to stay. He wanted to talk to her. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"The avatar…he was so nice to me. After I almost killed him," she turned to him. He nodded. "Thanks for…defending me. You won't regret this."

"I really liked the avatar's ideas about community service."

"Yeah, we'll see…" she mumbled and walked down the hallway. "Let's go see mother." He walked with her until they reached their mother's room. She was in her room unpacking her things still. They sat down on her bed. Ursa sat down on the bed next to Azula and squeezed her hand. She wrapped her arms around her, pulling her into a hug. Azula looked annoyed, but he saw her arms hug her back tightly.

Later that night Zuko retired to his bedroom. After he had visited their mother with Azula, he left them. He had taken the morning off from work, but he had an important meeting with the reinstated earth king late that afternoon, so he had no choice but to return to work. After that he completed miscellaneous duties of his position until he was too tired to concentrate. Although he was happy to be the fire lord, it was a surprising amount of work- not one the average person could handle.

On his way to his room he spotted Azula and their mother in the outside garden. They were huddled together on a swinging bench, rocking back and forth. He was too far away to hear their voices. They looked so at peace that he didn't dare interrupt them. He smiled. He couldn't have been happier to see his family together here in the palace, their rightful home. He was so glad that he had taken Azula to see her mother. There was no doubt in his mind that he had made the right choice.

Zuko thought about their encounter with the avatar and his gang. He didn't expect them to like or trust Azula at first. He didn't blame them at all for their reaction. He was happy that the avatar showed compassion. He could see that Azula responded to it. The nicer and more forgiving people were to her, the more she wanted to be nice back. He could see that through her reaction to him, the avatar, and a few of the servants around the palace. Perhaps nobody had ever showed her compassion before. Perhaps being friendless had hardened her heart, making her care for no one but herself. Whatever it was, it was all in the past now. Zuko was looking forward to the future. Love and forgiveness were healing Azula more than he could have ever hoped. She was still the same on the outside- smug and bossy- but he knew she was entirely different on the inside. He could only hope that in time, the change would become permanent.


AN: I hope Katara wasn't too out of character. She can be pretty hot headed.

Reviews appreciated.