Note: Not mine. Never will be, and if they were, well . . . . (evil laugh)

The diagnosis was that Zuko had a concussion. The official word about just how the Prince of the Fire Nation wound up with said concussion was that he had stepped on an area that was still unstable after the Avatar and his friends had invaded the palace, and the weakened marble had given way, causing him to crack his head against the floor. The actual truth of the matter was far more embarrassing.

As had become his habit since his return home, Zuko was walking the halls while reading yet another scroll on diplomatic ties between the Four Nations. It made for extremely boring reading, but Iroh insisted that his nephew become familiar with the conditions that were being set for peace between the Four Nations for the time when Zuko would take the throne. Zuko had learned from past arguments that when his uncle got that look on his face, it meant he better shut up and listen.

In this instance, he had paused in the hallway to try and decipher a particularly dry bit of writing, and hadn't noticed when Kaiya (who had been waddling determinedly after him) came and settled down at his feet to rest.

He was still standing there when Katara wandered by, and she smiled at the picture the two of them made. She was just about to comment on the cuteness of Kaiya sleeping at his feet, when Zuko went to take a step forward and his foot landed right on top of Kaiya's shell.

Both Kaiya and Zuko let out startled squawks, and Zuko quickly performed an elaborate movement that looked like he tried to jump over Kaiya without putting his already descended foot down any more, while regaining the balance he had lost when she had startled him. It didn't work, and Katara, watching as Zuko began to plummet towards the ground, jumped forward in an effort to catch him and help him regain the balance he had lost.

That didn't work, either, as Katara gave a jerk that served to send Zuko careening in the other direction, where he crashed into her and they both began to fall. Zuko, realizing that he was going to fall on top of Katara, wrapped his arms around her, and in a show of strength and reflexes, managed to twist himself around so that he was under Katara and took the brunt of their joined impact. His head bounced off the hard marble with a sickening crunch, and he lay still.

Katara lay stunned for a moment, then pushed her head up off Zuko's chest to peer worriedly into his still face.

"Zuko?"

When she didn't get an answer, she quickly scrambled into a sitting position (ignoring the fact that she was now straddling his waist), and peered down into his face. At that moment, Zuko groaned and moved a hand up to his head as his eyes dragged themselves open. He stared up at the worried face that was peering down at him, and found himself wondering just how long Katara had had a twin sister.

"Just what are you doing to my sister?!" an angry voice shouted, causing Zuko's head to explode with pain as Katara whipped around to see Sokka bearing down on them with all the fury that an older brother possessed.

Katara was about to get to her feet and intercept Sokka (where did he find a spear so quickly?) when two of the patrolling guards came upon the scene and quickly reacted to the sight of the heir to the throne, who, to their eyes, was in the middle of a romantic encounter, being under attack by an angry, spear wielding boy. Without pausing to ask questions, they stepped forward and caught Sokka's arms as he ran past them, and began to drag him off. It didn't help that Sokka was screaming for Zuko to get off his sister, when in truth it was Katara who was on top of Zuko.

Katara sighed, knowing she'd have to rescue her brother soon (but not just yet), and then turned her attention back to the object of her brother's ire. Zuko was groaning lightly in pain, his hand over his face. He then grunted, and gently reached over to move Kaiya away from his ear, where she had been anxiously pecking at the undamaged skin.

"Are you all right?" Katara asked, once again staring at him.

"Katara," his voice came out rough.

"Yes?"

"Where are we?"

Katara blinked. That didn't sound good, and she quickly resolved to get Zuko to a doctor as soon as he was back on his feet. Which, she belatedly realized, wasn't going to happen until she got off of him. She reached over and scooped Kaiya up in her arms, then climbed to her feet. She waited while Zuko slowly sat up and regained some semblance of his bearings, then called over to a passing guard for help in getting the prince to the Royal Physician. Zuko remained vaguely confused during their trek to the doctor, while Kaiya settled down in Katara's arms and resumed her interrupted nap.