They'd found her. The next Avatar.

And when Ozai's generals came to steal her away from the Southern Water Tribe, they got one hell of a fight.

The ground exploded next to Zuko, and he slapped the debris away with a heated hand, cursing the slush the Fire Nation soldiers were creating as he slipped and nearly went down. The world was chaos, and Zuko reached for the calm inside of him. He needed the calm, because the outcome of this fight would change everything. Ozai could not get his hands on the avatar. He'd already destroyed one; he could not be allowed to destroy another.

They had been prepared for an assault from the Fire Nation, and thanks to the devastating loss they'd suffered at Omashu, they were ready. In secret, they'd started to move their forces to surround the Avatar and her family, setting up hidden checkpoints that would spot the Fire Nation the moment they crossed into Southern Waters. No one had been surprised by the size of the fleet Ozai sent to capture the Avatar. It was clear he'd planned to lay siege to the South, much the same way he'd done to the North, and they'd done their best to prepare, but there was only so much they could do with fewer resources at their disposal. That didn't mean they couldn't get creative.

Three soldiers were coming toward Zuko, but he didn't have time to deal with them. He needed to get to Katara. He reached inside his boot and threw a dagger at one, cracking another across the face with a fire whip as he got too close. The third paused, rethinking the strategy, but Zuko needed them out of the way, pulling out his dao and feinting low before running the sword through a weak point in the armor.

"Katara!"

She wouldn't be able to hear him over the noise, but he hoped that she would at least feel that he was coming. They had been able to plan for the Fire Nation, for them to do an aerial assault, a land assault or a sea assault, for them to send stealth assassins or the entirety of their army. They'd been able to plan for the attack to come at different times of the year, or for them to lure the Avatar away from the South. The thing they hadn't counted on was the little girl they were trying to protect, the Avatar herself, running into the fray, fully expecting to hold her own against seasoned warriors. The rebels had shifted and done their best to form a protective circle around the Avatar, but the Fire Nation had taken advantage of the chaos, spreading them out and isolating them, so that only Katara was protecting the Avatar. Zuko reached deep to the pit of his stomach and let out a brilliant stream of fire, hoping to carve a clear path to the Avatar. To Katara.

Taking advantage of the clearing in front of him Zuko ran as fast as he could. Katara was facing down four soldiers, intent on taking the Avatar back with them, killing everyone who stood in their way if they had to. Her ice shield was breaking, and he had no way of knowing how long she'd been in this standoff, but he could see her breathing heavily. Heart beating quickly, Zuko reached for another burst of speed, but something crashed into him, sending him flying to the side, the world spinning. He barely had time to register the challenger as he rolled, trying to dodge fire blast after fire blast, more soldiers noticing him, noticing the crown in his hair, yelling things at him, some faces confused, some twisting with anger as they forgot their training, going for primal brutality. There wasn't time to panic; Zuko righted himself, pulling his arms close before letting out a wide spray of fire like his uncle taught him, searching for Katara, knowing he had to get to her.

He was able to break free from this group, yelling Katara's name again, getting closer and closer to her, soldiers realizing what he was doing, some going to help their comrades, others running after him. Arrows whizzed by, dropping soldiers to his left, and Zuko spared a glance to see archers in green parkas, thankful that Hakoda had them practice with the heavy coats. Still, it didn't seem to be enough, no matter how far he ran, it felt like he was never getting closer, and his progress was halted again when he caught a sword hilt in his ribs. Something came down hard on his head, and his vision exploded white as he fell, his whole body hurting.

He could not let them get her. He would rip the sun from the sky to save her.

Katara dropped to one knee as the soldiers hit her shield with simultaneous blasts of fire, and Zuko knew that he had one chance. Southern and Earth Kingdom soldiers were surrounding him, and someone was talking to him, but his head was ringing and he couldn't quite hear them. The soldiers were advancing and the shield was cracking, and Zuko's heart clenched in a way that it hadn't done in years, as a black sword cut down a soldier in front of him, several people pulling him to his feet.

They would not have her.

Grounding himself, Zuko moved his hands in a well practiced motion, his heart thudding in his chest as he did his best to ignore the pain in his body and trust that he would be protected. He focused his mind on his goal, on his target. Iroh once told him that he was too conflicted to generate lighting. Things had changed greatly since those days. He had changed greatly.

Opening his eyes and focusing on the soldiers, Zuko let loose with everything he had.

Katara mumbled as she roughly pat the gash on Zuko's head, cursing him for such stupidity. Yes, everyone had made it out of the battle alive, even if they had some injuries. Yes, they beat back the Fire Nation, claiming another hard won victory for the rebellion. Reinforcements had arrived from Kiyoshi, providing support, allowing them to sink or capture several Fire Navy ships. When the Fire Nation retreated, none of them believed that the fight to protect the Avatar was over. For the moment, though, they had a reprieve. Katara put the gauze down on the bed and took a few deep breaths, trying to stop the shaking before she went for the needle to sew up Zuko's wound.

"Can't you just use your bending?" he asked.

"Be quiet, you."

She huffed and put her fists on her hips, wishing the adrenaline would finally leave her. As soon as they'd secured the coast, she and Zuko had met up with Toph, Sokka and Suki to escort the Avatar and her family back to the chief's house. Her family would be under protection of the White Lotus, and pretty soon, they'd be secreted away from the South to some place where they would be safe for a time. They would go to the ends of the earth to keep the little girl out of Ozai's hands, but she wouldn't be able to stay underground forever. What kind of life was that for a child? They'd talked about several places to send her, but ultimately, the fewer people who knew where she was going, the better. Katara chuckled and held herself tightly, resting her head on the bedpost. None of that was the reason she couldn't stop shaking.

"Katara? Are you ok?"

Zuko came up behind her, and Katara held her breath as he wrapped his arms around her. She leaned back against him, taking comfort in the rise and fall of his chest, even as tears started the blur her vision. It was easier to be angry with him for being so reckless than it was to confront the way she felt when she that soldier hit him with the hilt of his sword, or the sheer terror in the core of her being as the lightning left his fingers, even if he was surrounded by their people, and Sokka was right beside him, making sure no one interrupted. Easier to reach for anger than to acknowledge that she would have let the Avatar die in order to save him.

"I'm fine," she said brusquely, pushing away from Zuko and picking up her water skin.

She pointed to the stool, and Zuko sat obediently, grunting and moving gingerly, his hands folded in his lap. Katara narrowed her eyes at him. And there was the guilt. It wouldn't be right to yell at him. As much as she wanted to, her heart wouldn't let her. She'd been too happy when the lightning left his body, had been ecstatic when it tore through the soldiers in front of her. She'd been filled with anger and happiness and pride, and even though she had no right to lay any claim to Zuko's accomplishment, she felt special that he would choose that moment to try something so risky just to save her. Shaking her head, Katara pulled the water from the skin and coaxed it into a glow over Zuko's cut.

"You scared me."

It was such an inadequate thing to say, but she had every confidence that he'd understand her. He always had. Whatever bond they'd formed in that cave after he'd taken her to confront her mother's killer had only strengthened over the years. There were times when they'd had whole conversations without words. He always just knew, and this time was no different.

"I'd do it again."

"You didn't even know that it would work."

"I had to try."

"And those soldiers running toward you?" The anger was starting to come out.

"For better or worse…"

Zuko trailed off, looking away from her. He was turning over some thought in his mind, his arms crossed and his brow furrowed in a way she'd seen Iroh do many times. Katara let him think over what he wanted to say as she watched the skin start to knit together, keeping in mind her teachings from the North. Waterbending healing was a great thing, but if you used it too much, especially for the little things, the body might start to lose the ability to heal itself. She focused on this, even as she realized she was just avoiding thinking about harder things.

"It…"

Zuko sighed and started to run his hands through his hair, but Katara slapped his hands away, keeping him from touching his wound. She bandaged it, then went to lean against the window. It was snowing again, giant, fluffy white flakes floating to the ground. She wondered how many snowfalls it would take to cover the blood. Outside, Sokka was playing with the young Avatar, Korra. She could faintly hear the childish screams as she tried to dodge a snowball Sokka was throwing at her.

"I chose you."

"What?"

"I chose you," Zuko repeated. His cheeks were pink. "If…If Ozai captured the Avatar, I don't think he would kill her right away. I know that he's become increasingly twisted over the years, but…" Zuko sighed, picking at his pants. "I think he would try to use her, to train her to love the Fire Nation or try to convince her that we were the bad guys, or…I don't know. I think he'd try to use her before completely writing her off. To demoralize us."

Katara turned this over, nodding slowly. They'd spent many a late night talking over what would happen if any of them got captured. A bottle of strong booze to share between them, she, Zuko, Sokka, Suki and Toph had drafted their plan to push toward the capitol, taking more of an offensive role in this fight. When they'd gone to convince the generals, they'd had to fight hard for it, meetings often turning into yelling matches, the older generals writing them off, saying they were just children and what did they know. But the generals relented and reason won. And every battle after that, Katara felt vindicated when they struck first against Ozai's forces and won. But during these late nights, huddled around a small table, liquor shared between them, their voices hushed, they admitted that they were scared. Aang was supposed to be the best among them, and Ozai had killed him. What chance did any of them stand? Toph, perhaps, held onto the anger longer than any of them. She was a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, taking her metalbending to a new, lethal level. She wanted to push right toward the capitol as soon as possible and destroy Ozai. To pay him back for all the hurt he'd caused them.

"There would be a chance that we could get her back," Katara whispered, finishing Zuko's thought, unable to shake memories of whispered conversations.

"It's selfish, and dumb, I know. And it was beyond risky, and I'm surprised you haven't laid into me yet." Zuko rubbed the back of his head. "But…you're important to me. I didn't want them to have you. I couldn't let them have you."

His voice was quiet, and Katara felt her cheeks heating up. She was being silly and foolish. Her mind was a jumble because of the battle. She didn't have her thoughts straight yet. This was not a time to blush. Zuko was protective of them all. They were all protective of each other. They had to be. Outside, Korra screamed as Sokka shoved a wad of snow down the back of her parka, and Zuko came to the window to watch.

"Seven years," he whispered.

"Seven years."

She reached out for him and he grabbed her hand without looking, giving it a firm squeeze before they let go. There was a loud slap on the door, and they both tensed, even though they knew exactly who it was.

"Put your clothes on," Toph yelled. "Dinner's almost ready."

"Very funny, Toph," Zuko called. "Go clean up."

"Whatever, dad."

Katara smiled. Toph would do it, though. She might not listen to many others, but Toph always listened to her and Zuko. Called them the team's parents. Downstairs, Korra's mother, a wonderful woman named Senna, Gran Gran, and a few other women from the Southern and Northern tribes were preparing a large dinner. There would probably be a formal celebration in the weeks to come, something to celebrate the Avatar. Suki was calling Sokka and Korra inside, and Korra extended her arms to Sokka. He picked her up and put the young girl on his shoulders. Sokka was a great big brother.

"Hey."

Zuko held his arms open, and Katara stepped into his embrace. Standing on the tips of her toes, she put her arms around his neck and hugged her best friend as tightly as she could, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her pressed against him. She didn't let herself believe that he breathed deeply of her, that the little noise he made was because he was enjoying this hug a great deal. She swore that her heart didn't speed up when his lips grazed her neck as he sincerely apologized for scaring her, promised her that he wouldn't do it again.

"I will always be scared going into battle," Katara said. "I can't lose you. Any of you."

She hastily added the last part, glad that he couldn't see her and hoping that he wouldn't be able detect anything in her voice.

"If I have to storm the palace myself, I give you my word that this war will not last forever."

"Now you're just being foolish again."

When Zuko laughed, it was the warm, pleasant sound she'd come to love and appreciate, so different from the way he used to laugh when she first met him. This laugh had more confidence, as if he'd truly figured out what laughter was, as if he was no longer just mimicking a sound he'd heard others make. When she tried to pull away, Zuko held her tighter, and she didn't fight him, glad for his warmth. He held her for a minute longer, before finally letting go.

"Thank you," Katara whispered, squeezing his hands. "Thank you for risking everything for me."

Zuko shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck, blushing as he mumbled that it was nothing, and that he'd gladly do it again. All this blushing, like they were two kids experiencing…what? He opened his mouth a few times as if he was going to speak, his face getting a little redder as he looked out the window toward the setting sun. Just when he looked like he'd made up his mind, someone was knocking at the door.

"Katara? Zuko? You kids alright in there?"

It was her father. Zuko chuckled, shaking his head and shooing her toward the door. Before she could protest, he was turning to the bed and picking up their parkas. He'd already swallowed whatever words he was about to say, and seven years of knowing him said that she'd probably never get to hear whatever her father had interrupted.

"We're just finishing up," Katara said, opening the door.

"How's he doing?"

"Fine," Zuko answered.

"Lucky," Katara grumbled.

Laughing, Hakoda gestured for them to follow. Dinner was ready.