Sorry this one took a little while to get up – I blame my internet for cracking a spastic! But here she is! :D I hope you like it and there is only one more chapter before the end of the story. :) AND IT IS ALREADY WRITTEN, SO HURRY UP AND REVIEW SO I CAN POST IT!!! Remember, I need three (3) reviews, or else I cannot update!

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24. A Night up in the Saddle

Sokka got Appa into the air once everybody was back in the saddle again and pointed him homeward. He joined the others back inside the saddle as they ascended and wrapped his arms around Suki as she leaned into him. Gently, she popped her head beneath his chin and they both smiled, their hands rubbing slow little circles on her belly.

Katara stirred a little, somewhere between unconscious and awake. Toph groaned and rolled over, cringing just a little in pain – there must still have been a few things that Katara hadn't quite been able to heal. Zuko sat between them, eyeing them both with a hint of worry.

Aang was laid out in front of Windu and Ty Lee. Momo had retreated to Ty Lee's warm lap and gentle stroking again and was purring quietly where he snoozed. She had a content smile across her lips and Windu kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes.

Next to Windu, there was Mai. And he was glancing between the two girls constantly. Every time he looked at Mai, he was hit with a wave of guilt. This was his fault – he had caused all of this. And it had all started with hurting Mai...

He shook his head and sighed heavily, looking off into the distant clouds that were surrounding them. A shiver ran up his spine and he felt himself curl up a bit. Ty Lee looked at his face and smiled.

"Are you cold?" she asked.

"Just a little."

That sweet innocent smile still plastered to that childish face of hers, she moved closer to him so that the side of their bodies were touching and she half spread Momo into his lap too. Windu smiled down at the little creature and chuckled, feeling a little better knowing that no one seemed to be holding what happened against him.

"Zuko."

The Fire Lord looked up from his wife's face. Sokka was leaning across the saddle, whispering to him. Suki had fallen asleep and was curled up in the corner. Sokka moved around so that he was sitting next to his brother-in-law before he continued.

"I'm sorry."

Zuko frowned at him, "For what?"

"For being a jerk to you," he explained. Zuko's eyebrows rose a little in surprise, then Sokka continued. "I said some pretty horrible things to you when this all happened and I shouldn't have. I jumped to conclusions because I was angry and thought that you'd cheated on my sister. And I shouldn't have."
"Sokka, it's –"

"No, no, let me finish!" he insisted. Zuko pressed his lips back together and smiled a little, nodding for Sokka to continue. "Listen, I love my baby sister more than my whole world. The only person I'd have trouble choosing her between would have to be Suki." He took a deep breath and sighed, looking at his own hands, folded in his lap. "All I want is for her to be happy and safe." He looked up to catch Zuko's eyes. "I trust you to keep her happy and safe. She wants to be happy and safe with you. So promise me... promise me you'll make sure she always is."

Zuko kept a solemn face as he nodded to the Water Tribe warrior. "I will always love your sister, Sokka. And as long as I love her, I will do everything possible to make her happy and keep her safe. I love her – more than my own life. I'll die for her if I have to."

Slowly, a smile spread over Sokka's face. "Good," he whispered.

Then, he began to make his way back over to where Suki was, curled up in her corner. Zuko smiled after him.

"Oh, and Zuko."

"Yes?"

Sokka turned to face him again, "Thank you. For helping me get her back, I mean."

The Fire Lord tossed his head and smiled. "No, Sokka. Thank you."

They smiled at each other, once again happy with having each other as both friends and brothers.

Sokka curled up next to Suki and they kept each other warm. Ty Lee and Windu had already fallen asleep with their heads on each other's shoulders. Smiling, Zuko spread his robe over the top of Toph, Katara, Mai and Aang and stayed up on his own all night, watching over all of them.

Zuko's eyes began to droop shut as the first light touched the sky. But as he began to doze off, he heard someone stirring and opened his eyes again. Looking up at him with misty green, unseeing eyes, there was Toph. At first her expression was blank with a small frown of confusion as she tried to decipher all the blurred shapes and outlines that were so unclear to her without solid ground beneath her.

"Toph?" he said gently.

She smiled at the sound of his voice and breathed a sigh of relief as he became clear in her vision. "I kept my promise, Zuko..." she whispered.

A small smile crept to his lips. "I know you did. But please, never come that close to breaking it again."

She gave a small chuckle as she made herself comfortable and curled up under Zuko's robe to keep warm next to Katara.

"Did everyone get out safely?" she asked.

He nodded, "Yes."

She smiled, "Good." And with that, she shut her eyes and drifted off again.

Zuko watched her for a moment longer before Appa let out a long, low groan. The Fire Lord climbed onto the bison's head and gave him a pat before he directed him to a patch of land in the middle of the forest where he could rest. He landed gently and settled down on the ground. Appa and Zuko were both asleep a few minutes later.

Momo was the first one to wake up – he had slept soundly, comfortably and warmly spread across Ty Lee and Windu's lap and was full of energy. The lemur jittered and flapped around the saddle, jumping on people and startling them awake, each of them giving a groan or yelp as they rose.

Aang held on to the small creature when it landed on his lap again after he'd sat up. He looked at Momo in confusion at first, not quite sure where he was or what was happening. Then all of the memories came flooding back to him and he clutched the lemur tightly, feeling a bit more lightheaded than he already had.

"Aang, you're awake!" Suki said happily upon seeing him.

He smiled weakly at her, "Yea... I guess I am." Momo snuggled into his chest and nuzzled him affectionately. Aang smiled down and scratched him gently behind the ears.

Sokka, Zuko, Ty Lee and Windu sat up and looked at him too.

"How are you feeling?" Ty Lee asked anxiously, leaning towards him.

Aang clutched his head and groaned a little, "A little dizzy and disorientated... but better than I've felt in a while."

"I'll bet that it's nice to be getting some fresh air again," Windu joked lightly.

"You have no idea..." Aang sighed, chuckling. "Did everyone get out safely?"

"Yes! Well, actually, um..." Sokka rethought his words as he looked over Toph, Katara and Mai.

"We had a few casualties, but we all survived," Suki said for him.

"Just," Zuko added, only to receive a harsh glare from her.

Aang's face saddened, "This is all my fault."

They gawked at him for a moment, "Don't say that, Aang! You couldn't have prevented this – none of us could have! It was all one big fat accident – I giant misunderstanding!" Ty Lee insisted.

"She's right, Aang," Sokka agreed.

"The people to blame for this are Long Feng and that Shang person," said Suki.

"And me..." Windu whispered, head hanging.

"No... as much as we wanted to blame you earlier, it wasn't your fault either, Windu," Sokka said gently to his fellow tribesman. "You were hypnotized – it would be unfair to hold you accountable for your own actions."

"But I wouldn't have been such an easy target to use if I hadn't liked Katara so much!"

"What?" Zuko said, raising his eyebrow.

Windu shifted uncomfortably where he sat as all eyes turned to him. "On Katara's way back down south after the war had been won, she and I got talking and I ended up fancying her... a lot." Zuko and Sokka swapped a look. "I just feel that... if it weren't for that, maybe I wouldn't have ended up hypnotized, and then none of this would have happened."

There was a tense, awkward silence over the group for a little while and they all stared intently at their hands. Then, Suki spoke up again.

"The Dai Li are powerful – I think that the fact that you were into Katara when they picked you to be their tool was a mere coincidence. How could they have known? They would have hypnotized you to do their will anyway. Windu, you were just as vulnerable as any other man and it wasn't your fault."

Everyone looked at her for a moment except for Windu, who kept frowning down at his hands, guilt depriving him of words.
"She's right," Zuko said slowly. "We won't hold what happened against you."

Biting his lip, he looked up and looked at them all, "Thanks guys... it means a lot to me."

A moment later, Sokka sighed and stood up, "Well, I think we ought to keep moving. Who brought Appa down anyway? Or did he land on his own."

"I brought him down, just before sunrise," Zuko admitted.

Sokka nodded and jumped onto the bison's head.

"Yip-yip," he said gently after the beast was awake. Then, Appa stood, shook himself and took off into the air. Sokka directed him towards Imperial City and the palace before he came to sit in the saddle again.

"Um... Your Majesty?" Windu started timidly, moving over to sit beside Zuko.

"You can call me Zuko..."

"Right um... look, I just wanted to make it clear... Katara is your wife and I'm not gonna touch her. And just for the record, I think another girl might have caught my eye, so..."

"Windu," he said, smirking. "We're cool." He extended his hand and, with a smirk of his own, Windu shook it, relieved that there wasn't any tension between them.

So that's that chapter! There is going to be either one or two more following it before the story comes to an end. We'll see! But remember guys, I need three (3) signed reviews for this chapter, asap, or else I'm not going to be able to update! So remember to review! Tell me what you thought – what you enjoyed, quote your favourite line, what you didn't like, etc etc. Go!

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