Word Count: 370
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: This and Ends were originally the same drabble, but I split them up because the moods were so different. One leads right into the next. This is the last part of this miniseries. (For now.)
Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she kneeled down beside Zuko and began to inspect his back.
"Um, everything looks okay here, just a few minor scratches," she announced, standing up and clapping her hands together loudly. "You should be all healed in few days. Just be careful not to move from side to side too quickly or you might rip that one open," she finished, pointing at a new scar on his stomach.
Zuko rolled over and stood up slowly, as if he expected her to suddenly attack him. "Relax, we don't make a policy of attacking the wounded," she assured him. "It'd look bad with the whole avatar thing, y'know?"
Except he was still giving her that confused, 'I-am-a-lost-puppy-please-take-me-hope' look. "Why did you help me?"
And that would be the question of the day, wouldn't it? "Well, you know, I didn't want natural causes to get rid of you before I got my shot," she laughed. He blinked, and she sighed. "Joking, joking. Geez, lighten up!"
He fidgeted a bit with his hands, then mumbled, "You guys should leave. It's not safe here."
"Oh yeah?" Katara challenged, amused. "And why is that, exactly? Because the shape you're in, you're not gonna get a whole lot of damage done before you're out cold again."
"Not me. Azula."
Katara frowned. "Where's the old man?" Zuko's gaze dropped from her knees to his own feet, and that was when she knew. "Oh, no. Zuko, I'm so sorry." And she was. She really was. "Was it Azula?" He nodded, just once, and on an impulse she took a step, closed the gap between them, and wrapped her arms around him. He didn't flinch, didn't try to push her away, just stood there stiffly, numbly. "I'm really sorry, Zuko. He seemed like a nice man."
"You guys should leave," he repeated as she pulled away, staring straight into her eyes as if trying to convey a very important message. "It's not safe for you."
"We'll leave in the morning," she promised him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "What about you?"
He shrugged.
She only hesitated slightly before suggesting, "Well, you could come with us."
END.