Chapter 11: Family

"I cried out with no reply
And I can't feel you by my side
So I'll hold tight to what I know
You're here and I'm never alone"

From the song "Never Alone" by Barlow Girl

While he had regained consciousness Zuko was still very weak. A fact that he disliked but was natural due to all the blood he'd lost. The fact that he and Katara woke up long before Sokka kept the club away from his head.

What surprised Zuko the most though was the Avatar's reaction, or rather his lack of one.

He was pondering this one day when Mari came over. She'd been avoiding him for a couple days since he'd woken up.

"Sooo..." She said in a nervous tone. "How are you feeling there?"

"Like I got hit with a throwing knife and almost died." He stated.

Mari cringed a bit. She had been intending to say she was sorry for hitting him and yelling at him before. He obviously wasn't going to make it easy though.

Zuko sighed a bit. "My I ask a question Mari?" When she nodded he continued. "Where do you call home?"

Mari gave Zuko a look that declared she thought him weird. "Well I guess here."

"Here?"

"Yeah. I don't mean the camp site or the woods Zuko. I mean I'm at home with Aang and the rest of the gang. Out of the lot the only ones who have an actual physical home to return to would be Sokka and Katara. Home is a feeling to though. It's feeling safe, accepted, and loved." She told him.

Zuko sat there quiet for a moment until Mari cleared her throat.

"I know we didn't exactly part on the best of terms last time..." She started.

"It's ok. We both said things we didn't mean."

"Still...for what it's worth. I think your mother would be proud of you." Mari said with a small smile.

Zuko simply nodded.

The fire prince decided a few hours later that if Mari could swallow her pride and apologize to him he could do the same thing to one he'd wronged.

"Uncle, could I talk to you a second." He asked. Katara had made sure everyone knew Zuko was not allowed to move from his spot in camp. Due to that whenever Zuko wanted something or wanted to talk to someone he had to ask. It was a humbling experience to have to depend on everyone else. Zuko didn't like it but he figured bleeding to death again would be much worse.

Iroh had not spoken to Zuko once the whole time he'd been here. While Katara had tried to reassure him that his uncle had been just as worried about Zuko as she had there was still a wall of distrust and hurt between them. Zuko did not wish for the wall to stay there and knew since he'd been the one who wronged his uncle he'd have to be the one to speak first in order for the wall to come down.

"What is it you wish to speak of Zuko?" Iroh asked in a neutral tone as he sat down.

For a moment Zuko almost lost his nerve. What if Iroh didn't accept his apology? What if Iroh continued to hate him?

"I...I wanted to apologize..." Zuko said shame-faced.

"For what Prince Zuko?" Iroh asked.

"For..." Zuko was stumped. Simply apologizing for turning his back on Iroh in Ba Sing Se didn't seem to cover everything. "Everything?" He finished with an uncertain tone.

Iroh cocked an eyebrow at Zuko making him think of Sen for a moment.

"You've been trying to help me since as far back as I can remember. When I was banished you came with me, you gave me counsel over the years, you have always stood by me even when you thought I was making a mistake..." Zuko sighed. Now that he was putting everything into words it all seemed to sound so stupid. He was making a huge fool of himself. "...After everything you did for me I turned my back on you...and I...I'm sorry."

His uncle still sat looking at him. Zuko cursed himself, of course his feeble apology wasn't enough. His uncle would never forgive him for such...

Suddenly Iroh shifted forward and wrapped his arms around Zuko. "I have always thought of you as a son Zuko. I hope that I act more like a true father in forgiving you no matter the transgression." Iroh said with a smile. There was tears in the old man's eyes.

For once Zuko accepted the hug and gave his uncle one of his own. He remembered Mari's words from earlier. Safe, accepted, and loved. Three emotions his uncle definately made him feel.

"I'm glad you patched everything up with your uncle and Mari." Katara whispered to him later.

It had become something of a nightly ritual for them. After everyone was asleep they would sit up and talk in whispers for a time while staring up at the sky. It kept them from having to deal with Sokka's big brother attitude which neither of them was looking forward to when he finally figured things out, at least until Zuko was well enough to defend himself.

"Me too." Zuko said. "I've never missed him so much."

Katara gave him a grin. "It's like the saying goes. You don't know what you have until it's gone."

After a moment of silent Zuko asked something that had been puzzling him for a long time. "What do we have?"

"Hmm?"

"Us. You and me. What do we have?"

"We're friends." Katara answered rolling over so she could look down and see his face. She liked looking at that face. Most people probably didn't like to look at him because of his scar, but Katara honestly couldn't imagine him without it. His scar was as much a part of him as his bending.

"A Water Tribe and Fire Nation friendship..." He said in a disbelieving tone.

Katara smiled. "I know, so shocking!"

She's expected Zuko to grin a bit at the joke. Katara was surprised that he looked wistful. "So...we're just friends?"

Katara wanted to frown at him. Was he trying to tell her something? He was staring at her with a look that made her feel like some kind of sought after prize.

Zuko raised his hand and brushed two fingers across her bottom lip. Katara felt as like her heart was trying to jump out of her chest it was pounding so hard. She could feel his breath on her face.

The sudden grinding noise of stone on stone caused Katara to jerk up out of Zuko's hand. Toph stuck her head out of her earth tent with wide eyes.

"Guy's someone's coming!"

Katara jumped up as the rest started shaking off sleep. Zuko made to rise as well but Katara pushed at him to get back down. "Firebenders?" He asked.

"I...I think so." Toph answered.

"Think so?" Mari asked. "Why only think so?"

Toph scowled. "A few of them are walking kind of funny. Like they're not use to the armor."

"New recruits maybe." Iroh stated.

"Why would Azula send new recruits after us?" Sokka asked.

"Here they come." Aang said raising his staff.

For a second the soldiers just stared at the group they had come upon in the woods. No one moved a muscle on either side. Then a firebender stepped forward. "Avatar..."

Aang wiped around and the bender was blown back.

Another one put up his hands in front of Toph. "Wait..."

Toph didn't wait though and brought two sheets of rock up to cage her opponent.

Sokka blinked at the enemy in confusion. "Either these guys are really new, or they're trying to talk to us." He said to Momo who was perched on his shoulder.

One of the masked firebenders stepped toward Katara and Zuko. Katara pushed her watery attack at him only to have the man drop into a familiar stance. The water stopped in midair and weaved back and forth.

"Still wanting to fight there Katara?" Came a voice from the metal mask. Katara's eyes went wide and the water dropped to the ground.

Aang meanwhile was having some trouble with his newest masked opponent. The man kept his hands behind his back and was ducking and dodging. Finally the man seem to growl at the airbender. "Widen your stance!" He barked.

Aang froze in middle of his attack. "Jeong Jeong?'

His moment of hesitation left him open and Aang's feet were kicked out from under him causing him to land hard on his rear.

A hand reached up and removed the plate from his face showing the Deserter's face.

"Admiral Jeong Jeong." Iroh said stepping over. "You gave all of us a fright."

Jeong Jeong gave bow. "General Iroh. It is good to see you again."

Iroh gave a hearty laugh as he looked about. Katara was scolding Zuko for trying to stand although she was supporting him currently, Sokka was explaining to Toph and Mari that the firebenders weren't enemies after all, while Aang was blinking about with a bewildered look on his face.

Another 'firebender' came over. His shoulder length white hair was tied back and his lighter blue eyes seemed icy to Iroh.

"Good to see you again Master Pakku." Aang said with a bow.

The elder waterbender smiled and returned the bow. "Always a pleasure Avatar. I hope you've been working on your waterbending."

"Katara was saying there wasn't anything more she could teach me." Aang informed.

Pakku looked over in Katara's direction where she was helping Zuko walk over to them. While Pakku and Katara had never had the best relationship Aang had thought they had worked out their differences. Now however Pakku had a familiar prejudice look on his face.

"We'll be moving out soon to take you back to our base Avatar." Jeong Jeong told him.

"Base?" Zuko asked having finally made it over.

Jeong Jeong nodded. "Allies of the Avatar have been gathering for some time now not to far from here."

"There's no need to go spilling all our secrets." Pakku remarked to Jeong Jeong with a sneer.

The fire and water benders glared at each other, everyone could feel tension in the air.

"Why don't we get going," Katara interjected. "We do have an injured man with us who needs his rest as soon as possible."

Jeong Jeong gave a stiff bow and turned on his heel to lead the way.

"I'll help Zuko along." Iroh told Katara as they started to move.

"I'm perfectly capable of..."

"I can walk." Zuko said and stood up. It hurt and he was stiff but he had also picked up on Pakku's hateful glaring as Iroh had. Katara obviously hadn't but Zuko wasn't about to place her in contest with any of her people over him.

He didn't say anything as he walked carefully with his uncle hovering over him. He could almost hear Katara's mind asking what she'd done wrong. I'll talk to her about it later and explain everything.

They thankfully hadn't had far to walk. Soon everyone stood on the edge of the nearby mountain looking down at the 'base' as Jeong Jeong had called it.

In a valley with a wide field there sat really four camps. As one studied they could see the markings of the four nations. The Water Tribes and Earth kingdom were relatively close together and a much smaller camp was near them yet still seperate. The smaller camp had no flag at all. Still another medium sized camp was a little further away flying the flag of the Fire Nation. The three camps made a semi circle before the Fire Nation and in the middle was another bigger tent that stood alone.

No one said a word as they all started down the mountain to the camp. Bellies starting to growl at the smell of food.

Mari however did not move. She stood staring down at the camp with apprehension. Having been a victime of hate for so long she could read very clearly the message the camps made.

Toph stopped realizing that Mari wasn't moving. "Mari aren't you coming?" She asked.

The airbender sat quiet for a moment. "What do you feel Toph?"

Toph frowned. Being unable to see she had little idea of the picture the camp painted. She could however feel the atmosphere alot better then the rest. She had been hoping she would be wrong. "Well...I..."

"This isn't a camp of people fighting for a common goal. This is a camp of people waiting for a reason to explode at each other. How are we suppose to beat an enemy when we're looking over our own shoulders?"

"But Aang is here now." Toph pointed out in an attempt at looking on the bright side. "Maybe they'll all band together now that the Avatar is here to guide them."

Mari bit her lip in concern. "I hope so Toph. I really hope so."

When the group neared the camps they were split up. Jeong Jeong told Iroh, Zuko, and Mari that they should come with him while Pakku asked for the rest to follow.

"There are people who will be wanting to see all of you." Jeong Jeong stated in a matter of fact tone.

As Aang and the rest walked Katara slunk into her own thoughts. At the arrival of others Zuko had suddenly turned cold on her and she didn't understand why.

A sudden gasp from behind her made Katara look up. They were standing before a richly made tent. It wasn't large but something about it screamed wealth.

Pakku asked them to wait and stepped into the tent.

Katara turned to see Toph looking apprehensive. "Toph what's the matter?"

Toph started to answer when the tent flap was pulled back and Pakku stepped out with Toph's father.

Lao Bei Fong looked furiously at the Avatar. "YOU!" He snapped. "How dare you take my daughter from me you little..."

"DAD!" Toph yelled at him.

Lao blinked at Toph in surprise. He'd never had his daughter yell back at him even when she had been disagreeing with him.

Toph looked at her friends. "I'm sorry guys but me and my dad need to have a talk. I'll see you later ok?"

All three looked at her quizzically but nodded as Toph earthbended her still sputtering father back into his tent and followed.

Pakku looked back at the three. "We'll be moving on now."

Sokka couldn't contain himself anymore. "How did you guys all come here? What's going on?"

"I think you'll be better off getting the details from your father Sokka." Pakku told him.

"Dad's here!?" Sokka yelled in excitement and started looking about.

"If I guess right he'll be in with King Bumi."

"Bumi?" Aang said happily.

When they reached the tent Pakku didn't bother restraining any of them. The two siblings almost jumped on their father although Sokka made it a point to step back so Katara could get her chance to hold onto him. As he'd done when they'd first seen each other again. Katara of course was blubbering like a baby in his opinion.

Aang of course hugged Bumi and started asking how the King escaped captivity when he noticed there was one other person in the tent. The man was as ancient looking as Bumi and wore a Fire Sage's robe. He was staring at Aang like he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Aang? What trouble did you get into without me that landed you stuck as a twelve year old eh?" He asked with a big smile and mischievious look in his eye.

Aang's heart almost burst. "KUZON!" He cheered and hugged the older man fiercely. "I've missed you..." He choked out as he started to cry.

Jeong Jeong escorted his group to a small tent in the heart of the Fire Nation camp. It was simple but something about it shouted that someone important resided in it.

"I think Ms. Mariko, that you had better come with me while matters are taken care of."

Zuko was instantly on alert. Splitting up was a sure fire way to take people out one by one.

"I certainly know all about the need for privacy." She commented.

"What? Mari you can't leave..."

"Shut up Zuko." Mari stated. "You'll be fine on your own for a bit."

Iroh was also frowning and looking about with concern. Mari however was not. Her gut feeling was that there was nothing amiss, here at least.

So Mari turned on her heel and left the two princes to meet with whoever. She also excused herself of Jeong Jeong's presence pointing out that he surely had better things to do then babysit her.

Finally convincing Jeong Jeong. Mari simply walked away from the camps and into the open fields. She flopped onto her back and stared up at the sky, for a moment wishing she had a glider like Aang so she could fly away from the painful truth. True people might be pleased to see her, pleased to meet her, but there wasn't anyone who truely cared about her.

Mari closed her eyes and sighed. She wouldn't say it, but she was lonely. It seemed like everyone had someone else outside of their little group that cared for them. She was the odd man out though.

When Mari openned her eyes she froze. There was a very large and very furry face looking at her.

"N..Nice bear...don't maul my face off please?" She asked it.

The bear seemed to grunt at her and then licked her face.

"Ewww...bear slobber!" She shrieked.

"There you are." Another voice called.

Mari looked over to see a man heading towards her. He had a kind of brainy look she'd seen amoung scholars but he looked terribly young.

"Sorry, was he bothering you?" The man asked with an apologetic look.

"Well...he didn't eat me so I was guessing I made a new friend myself." Mari said with a smile. The bear gave a growl and licked her hand. "Ok ok I'll pet you if that's what you want." She said as she patted it's big head.

The man gave a chuckle. "So what are you doing out here by yourself if you don't mind my asking?"

Mari shrugged. She debated a moment telling the man anything but he had an open face. She could read his curiousity easily. "Nothing in particular. All my friends had meetings they had to go to but I'm not important so I get to sit around bored." Or sit around and feel sorry for myself.

"Must be nice not having people demanding your time." The man told her.

Mari frowned. She'd never thought of it that way. "Maybe, but it must be better having family and lots of friends to look out for you."

"Being important doesn't mean you get alot of friends." The man stated. "If anything you get alot of people hanging on and trying to manipulate your position. They don't actually care about you at all."

Mari slanted a look at him. "Got bit?"

"A little." The man stated flatly.

"So is that why your out here? No friends and nothing to worry about?"

"Oh I have plenty to worry about but no friends around to lend an ear and advice."

Mari blinked at him. She felt an odd kind of kinship to the man now with a bear sitting between them napping while they petted him. They both seem to have no one yet he was the opposite of her. "How about the friendly ear of a stranger?" She asked with a smile.

The man gave her one in return and she held out her hand. "My name's Mariko, but people call me Mari."

"I'm The Earth King." He said as he shook her hand.

Mari snorted. "That's not a name that's a title. How about your name?"

The Earth King blinked and frowned. He hadn't been called his name in many years due as tradition dictated. This woman however was not his subjects technically...

"I...well my mother named me Kuei."

Mari smiled. "Well then Kuei how about you tell me what's bothering you?"

Zuko sat down on the ground. He was so tired from the walk, climb, and now the waiting.

"Zuko we should be standing when our host gets here." Iroh told him.

"I know Uncle. I'm just so tired. I'm sure we'll hear him before we see him, I'll stand then."

Iroh didn't respond though and Zuko opened his eyes. "Uncle? Are you alright?" He asked as he stood up.

There were tears in his uncle's eyes. "Your highness." Iroh choked out with a bow.

For a second Zuko thought his Uncle was talking to him then he felt a soft hand on his shoulder.

"Zuko?"

He suddenly couldn't breathe. His mind had to be playing tricks on him. As Zuko turned around though dreams were slowly turned into reality.

Ursa stared at her son. There was tears in her eyes and millions of thoughts racing around in her mind. Zuko's expression mirrored hers almost exactly.

"Mom..." Zuko whispered. He wanted to touch her but worried that if he tried to grab her she'd disappear.

Urse wrapped her arms around him though and pulled him into a hug. "Oh my baby..." She said as the tears rolled down.

Relief poured through him and Zuko felt something break in him. He clung to his mother and sobbed like a child.

I'm home...I'm finally home.