Broken Hearts and Healing
A Hero Always Comes Home
Katara ran after Zoe.
"Zoe!" Katara yelled. The rest of the Gang followed Katara. When they got there Katara was banging on the door.
"Zoe let me in! It's Katara!" Katara pleaded. Toph placed her hand on the door.
"Zoe. I'm going to break this door down in five, four, three, two and ONE!" As the looked in the room, they realized Zoe was gone. The window was wide open. Suki ran to the window and looked down.
"She jumped!" Suki half laughed. Zuko rushed to the edge of the window.
"She jumped. She jumped out of a window. Why am I not surprised?" Zuko muttered.
"Cause it's something Zoe would do." Toph grinned. She found this kind of amusing. Zuko ran out of the door and ran to the beach.
Zoe stood there looking at towards the horizon. Zoe slowly started to walk into the water. She watched the sun rise in the sky. Zoe felt like she was watching herself act, as though she was the passenger in the story of her life.
"Nate." Zoe whispered quietly as the tears ran down her face.
"Please. Come back. Don't leave me." Zoe felt her heart break. She slowly realized, as she heard the water lapping gently at the shore, Nate wasn't coming back.
"ZOE!" Zuko yelled as he ran down to the beach. He saw Zoe standing in the water.
"ZOE!" Zuko yelled again. Zoe stood there motionless. Zuko ran up to her and began wading in the water towards Zoe.
"YOU IDIOT! YOU JUMPED OUT OF A WINDOW! YOU COULD HAVE DIED!" Zuko yelled furiously. What was she thinking? Zoe didn't turn around.
"Dead? I wish I was dead." Zoe whispered. Zuko felt his anger wash away. Why was Zoe acting this way? Zoe looked at Zuko. Tears were running down her face, silently.
"Zoe? What's wrong?" Zuko asked quietly, fully aware that the gang had stepped on to the beach. Zoe looked at Zuko for a moment and then ran up to him. Zuko stood there awkwardly and then hugged Zoe back. Zoe was sobbing now.
"He's dead." Zoe whispered. Zuko took Zoe and lead her out of the water. Zoe was crying uncontrollably. It scared Zuko to see Zoe like this. Katara started to say something but Zuko glared at her. Katara closed her mouth. Zuko lead Zoe back into her room.
"What's wrong?" Suki asked as Zoe walked out of earshot.
"I don't know." Katara stared after Zoe and Zuko. Katara started to follow them.
"No." Suki grabbed Katara's arm. "Let Zuko handle this." Katara sighed in response. The rest of the gang stood there for a little while, unsure of what to do.
Zuko sat Zoe down on her bed.
"Who's dead?" Zuko asked gently. Zoe tried to wipe away her tears, but they just kept rolling down her face.
"He- he promised." Zoe choked. Zoe looked up at Zuko; her blue eyes didn't seem to be the color of a moving river anymore. They were the color of tears.
Katara sat down and wrote Iroh a letter.
Dear Iroh,
Please hurry back. Zoe's upset. Very upset. She locked herself in her room before, and then jumped out of her window. Please hurry. I'm scared Zoe might hurt herself. Zuko's talking to Zoe right now. I don't know what's going on. Maybe you can figure out why she's like this. You do know her best. Please hurry Uncle.
Love,
Katara
Katara gave the letter to a servant.
"Give this to General Iroh. Immediately." Katara said quietly. The servant nodded and ran off.
"Who Zoe?" Zuko asked. Zoe wouldn't stop crying and it was beginning to scare him.
"He's dead. He's not coming. He- he hated me. He burned everything that reminded him of me. He hated me." Zoe's words came tumbling rapidly out of her, much like the tears pouring down her face.
"Who Zoe? Maybe I can hel-" Zuko began.
"Leave me alone!" Zoe screamed suddenly, before bursting into sobs.
"You can't help me! Leave me alone!" Zoe screamed in between her sobs. Zuko backed out of the room. Katara heard Zoe scream and ran to Zoe's room. She bumped into Zuko. Her face instantly heated. Katara calmed herself. She had been having a little trouble looking Zuko in the eye after she kissed him. She thought of her bold actions and immediately started blushing again.
"Katara?" Zuko asked. Zuko's good eyebrow was raised. He obviously couldn't figure out why Katara kept blushing.
"I'm going to talk to Zoe." Katara said keeping her eyes on the floor.
"No. I think we should leave her be. She's really upset." Zuko said firmly. Suddenly terrible smell came through the door.
"Is something burning….?" Katara asked. After a moment Katara's eyes widened.
"Is that burning….skin?" Katara burst into Zoe's room. Sure enough, Zoe was at the foot of her bed. The whole room was covered in burn marks and there was water splashed in several places. Zoe's leg was burning. Katara gasped in horror.
Zoe was vaguely aware of her burning flesh. She didn't really feel anything. The burning flame was like a mere tickle. Zoe heard Katara come into the room. Zoe just sat there, wondering why the universe tormented her like this.
"ZOE!" Katara yelled. Katara immediately bended some water out of her pouch and put the fire on Zoe's leg. Only then did Zoe realize the pain. Zoe groaned. Katara began working on putting out the rest of the fires. Zuko went over and picked Zoe up. Zoe struggled against Zuko but then she lost consciousness. Zuko looked down at Zoe's leg. It was black and the bone was showing in some places. Katara turned to Zuko, tears in her eyes.
"Why is she doing this to herself?" Katara asked. Mai walked into the room.
"She's weak." Mai sighed. Zuko glared at her. Mai simply rolled her eyes.
"You should hear her at night. 'Oh Nate… Come back! Save me! Save me!' It's sickening." Mai mocked. Katara wiped the tears out of her eyes.
"Shut up Mai." Katara growled.
"She's a better fighter than you'll ever be." Katara retorted. Mai sighed in response as she walked out of the room. Zuko felt the strong desire to punch Mai square in the face. Katara huffed. Zoe's eyelids fluttered.
"Zoe!" Katara exclaimed happily. Zoe averted Katara's eyes. Zuko stared at Zoe. Zoe shifted uneasily.
"Zoe. We need to talk." Zuko said quietly. Zoe looked into Zuko's eyes, her once blue energetic eyes, now a dull grey, boring into his amber eyes. Her grey eyes seemed to be filled with sorrow.
"Why are you doing this to yourself?" Zuko asked calmly. Zoe averted his eyes. Zuko grabbed her face. Zoe instantly heated up and burned Zuko. Zuko didn't flinch.
"Why?" Zuko asked calmly. Zoe continued to avert Zuko's eyes.
"ZOE!" Zuko yelled. Zoe flinched. For a split second, the grey eyes met the gold. And then, as brief as it came, the grey eyes pulled away. Zuko grunted in frustration.
"I'm not playing games with you. You're acting like your five. Grow up." Zuko muttered. Zoe glared at him.
"GORW UP?" Zoe screeched hysterically. Zuko pulled his hand away. Katara backed up.
"YOU THINK I NEED TO GROW UP?! I'VE BEEN THROUGH MORE THAN YOUR LITTLE HEAD COULD HANDLE! I'VE SEEN THINGS THAT YOU COULDN'T EVEN IMAGINE! AND YOU GO AROUND DEMANDING THAT I OPEN UP TO YOU! IT DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT SCAR FREAK!" Zoe screamed as she stood up. She stumbled. Katara ran to help Zoe up. Zoe pushed her away.
"I don't need your help." Zoe whispered. Then for a second she looked like she was about to fall. A girl stood in the doorway, dressed in pink. Ty Lee ran to Zoe and hit her pressure pints. Zoe fell down, completely numb. Ty Lee smiled apologetically. Zuko carried Zoe back into the bed. Zuko then stepped back. Zoe's eyes were hard and hateful.
"I'm sorry Zoe, but we don't want you to hurt yourself." Zoe's eyes softened for a moment. Then they hardened again.
"I hate you." Zoe whispered harshly. Zuko stepped back feeling like he just had been slapped across the face. Katara eyes widened.
"Don't say that!" Zoe didn't look away. She stared back into Katara's eyes. After a long moment Zoe looked away. Katara's eyes filled with tears.
"How can you say that?" Katara backed out of the room, tears threatening to spill. Ty Lee ran after her. Zuko didn't run after her, even though he wanted to.
"Why did you say that?" Zuko asked quietly. Zoe gazed out towards the windows. Zuko looked into Zoe's eyes. Tears were rolling down her cheeks.
"I don't want to feel anymore." Zoe whispered. Zoe sat up and looked into Zuko's eyes. Zuko hugged Zoe. Zoe let him hug her, partly because her head too much to fight, and it felt kind of nice to let someone take care of her.
Ty Lee ran after Katara. Katara was crying.
"Why is she like that?" Katara cried. Ty Lee shrugged.
"Maybe she's just cranky." Ty Lee suggested. Katara let out a small chuckle. If Zoe was cranky, she would destroy everything. Katara wiped her eyes and went to check on Zoe.
Ty Lee cocked her head.
"WAIT! What did I do?" Ty lee called after Katara. Katara didn't hear her. Ty Lee pouted.
"Now what do I do?"
Katara walked in to find Zoe and Zuko hugging. After a moment Zoe broke away from Zuko.
"Get some sleep Zoe." Zuko said quietly. Instead of fighting back Zoe nodded her head weakly and collapsed back into her pillow. Zuko stood up and walked out of the room. Katara walked after him.
"How'd you do that?" Katara asked him. Zuko shrugged. Katara smiled.
"You're like her big brother." Katara smiled. Zuko shrugged again. Katara giggled.
"I didn't know you were a big old softie Lord Hot Head." Katara teased. Zuko turned around, mocking anger.
"Oh really?" Zuko asked, his good eyebrow raised. Katara laughed.
"Yupp. You're a big softie." Katara smirked. Zuko smiled an evil smile.
"I see how it is." Zuko then turned around.
"SOKKA!" Zuko yelled. Katara paled.
"Zuko…." Katara pleaded. Zuko smirked as Sokka came running.
"What ponytail?" Sokka asked.
Zuko grabbed Katara and kissed her on the lips. Katara's eyes widened. Sokka's face got red and puffy.
"KATARA!"Sokka yelled. He grabbed Katara by the wrists and pulled her away. Zuko smirked and waved. Katara stuck her tongue out and mouthed three words.
"I hate you."
Toph sat down next to Aang.
"You okay Twinkle toes?" Toph asked. Aang grunted.
"Seriously what's wrong?" Toph asked again. Aang grunted again. Toph stomped her foot and Aang went flying. He landed on his butt. Toph smirked.
"You want to tell me what's wrong or do you want me to hurt you again?"
Zoe tossed and turned.
Nate was holding Zoe's hand.
"Are you okay?" Nate asked. Zoe shook her head.
"What would happen if we ever got separated?" Zoe whispered. Nate turned Zoe around so she was looking into his eyes.
"Zoe that will never happen. And if we did I'd swim the ocean for you." Zoe closed her eyes.
"Really?" Zoe asked.
"Zoe… I'd fly up and bring you back a star. See that star?" Nate pointed to a star in the sky. It shined brighter than all the rest.
"Yes."
"That's our star. If we get separated then you keep looking at that star until I come find you." Nate whispered. Zoe smiled.
"Even if it meant swimming the ocean?"
"Even if it meant swimming the ocean." Zoe smiled. Nate then kissed Zoe gently. Zoe stiffened for a moment, and then melted into the kiss. Zoe felt her heart pounding in her chest. Then at the same time they both broke the kiss. They stood there for a moment neither of them wanting to break their embrace. Zoe was happy with letting Nate hold her. And Nate was thrilled to be able to hold her. Zoe rested her head on his shoulder.
"Zoe… I-" Lee burst in.
"NATE!" Lee yelled. Nate and Zoe quickly let go of each other. Lee's face got red.
"She was mine! The chief said!" Lee yelled. Nate looked down. Zoe looked angry.
"What?" Zoe asked angrily.
"The chief said you were to be my wife!" Lee yelled. Zoe was furious.
"I'm not a prize! I'm a human being! You can't make my decisions for me!" Lee got mad now.
"You joined the village! You have to listen to the chief!" Zoe's face got red.
"NO! I won't have my life lived for me!" Zoe screamed and stormed off. Lee and Nate turned to face each other.
"Now look what you've done!" They said in unison.
Zoe woke up and closed her eyes. She felt the tears rolling down her face.
Zuko heard something move. He sat up and listened again. Someone was crying. He put on his robe and walked over to Zoe's room.
Iroh read the letter Katara had sent him. He motioned to a servant.
"What's the fastest way to the Fire Nation?"
"Airship."
"I'll need one. Unfortunately I must leave. And quickly."
"It will be ready within an hour." The servant hurried out of the room. Iroh began packing his belongings. He remembered some old words of wisdom.
Whenever love is forbidden, then you know it's true love. He sighed.
Zuko walked into Zoe's room. She was sniffling.
"You okay?" Zoe looked up.
"Yeah." Zoe wiped her eyes.
"No you're not." Zuko said quietly.
"Hey Zuko?" Zuko sat down on the foot of Zoe's bed.
"Yeah?" Zoe gulped.
"A heart can be broken right?"
"Of Course." Zuko said. Zoe's boyfriend dumped her. That must be it. Zuko was about to say something but Zoe cut him off.
"But what if your heart wasn't even whole to begin with?" Zoe asked quietly. Zuko looked into Zoe's eyes.
Zoe's eyes matched her tears perfectly. Zuko didn't know what to say.
"Zoe…. I'm not good at this type of stuff. But if you want to talk… I'll listen. Ok? You're my second little sister that is trying to kill me." Zuko said. Zoe chuckled.
"Thanks Lord Hot Head." Zoe smiled weakly. Zuko got up.
"Go to sleep."
"Yes, father. And you should go back to making out with Katara." Zoe said, her eyes closed, but a huge grin light up her face. Zuko groaned.
"You and Toph are so much alike."
"Great minds think alike." Zuko walked out of the room and went back to bed. Zoe waited until she heard the door shut. Then she started crying.