Zuko

My eyes opened and I closed them again. My head hurt so bad. When would it end? Then I felt someone with me. I looked down and on either side of me were my girls. My wife on my right, her head was on my chest and she was sound asleep. On my left was Izumi, snuggled into my side and she was also out. I smiled. If anything could get me through this, it were these two. Then I looked over at the chair and saw Azula.

"Hey Zuzu. You're awake." it was a statement, not a question.

"Hey Azula. How long have you been there?"

"A couple of hours. I am worried about you."

"What about your work?"

"They know what's going on. I already spoke to them and told them I'll be back once you're better."

"Azula, I don't want you jeopardizing your job over me. You're doing so well, I'd hate for you to lose it."

"Stop worrying, big brother. I won't lose my job. Even if I did, it would be worth it for you." I looked at her disapprovingly but said no more about it. It was then that I felt stirring to my right. I looked over and Sam was opening her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sam. Did we wake you?" She looked at me puzzled and then saw Azula.

"No, hunny. You didn't wake me." She said. Then that I realized, she wouldn't tell me even if we did. She looked over at Azula, "When she wakes up, will you please take Izumi? I need to fill Zuko in on what happened and I don't want her hearing it."

"Of course. Do you want me to wait until she wakes or do you want me to take the little squirt now? Who knows how long she'll be out for." Sam looked up at me to see what I wanted to do.

"That's ok, Azula. Let her sleep. I don't want to disrupt her. I do need to sit up though." I said and I slid myself up to rest my back against the headboard. It made me a bit dizzy but it felt really good. I looked down and Izumi was stirring. I hadn't meant to wake her, but wake her I did.

"I'm sorry, Turtleduck. I didn't mean to wake you." I said. Izumi looked up at me and sat up next to me.

"Are you feeling better, Daddy?"

"Yes, my dear. I am. You know? I think it's all the extra hugs I've been getting. Your hugs always make me feel better. Yes, that must be it." I said. I loved watching my little girl's face beam. She climbed up on my chest and kissed my cheek, then she hugged my chest tight. It hurt, her on my chest, but I didn't say anything. I'd give anything to make her happy.

"Alright, Izumi. Remember what we said, be careful with Daddy. Come on, why don't you play for awhile so your father and I can talk." she scrunched her nose up at that. She didn't see how us talking could be more entertaining than her.

"Your mom's right, Squirt. Let's go. I'll go with you." Azula said, taking hold of Izumi's arm and guiding her off the bed. Izumi didn't want to go but she went along anyway.

"Now that Izumi is gone, how do you feel, my love?" Sam asked.

"Better than before but my whole body hurts. My head especially." I knew there was no point in lying to Sam. She knew me too well.

"I can only imagine how sore you are."

"So now that we are alone. Tell me, Sam. I need to know what happened."

"How much do you remember?" I thought about that for a moment and then answered.

"Well, I was reviewing the goings on at the Kushitoa prison when one of the prison guards mentioned that he thinks there was a house nearby. I asked him why he thought that. He said that there was a spa that a lot of men were going in and out of. Why would men be going to a spa? Certainly not in droves. So my men and I went there to see what we could find. Sam, I know you told me the state these girls are in but…I had no idea. Maybe I thought you were exaggerating. They were in a room upstairs and you could…smell the unclean smell that I recognized from our girl here in Capital City. There were six young girls in that small room. It had to be smaller than even our bathing room. They were dirty and their clothes. Well, they were similar to our girl's. When I came in…they were scared of me. I know sometimes my Fire Lord regalia is intimidating to people but I didn't think it was that. I thought it was…because I'm a man. It made me sick. I tried to tell them that I wouldn't hurt them but they didn't seem to speak our language. So I just ushered them out of the room and my guards took them all to the prison just for them to get out of there. We were going to bring them back on the airship. I made sure they got some decent clothes, food and water." I looked over at Sam and she was listening and she looked upset. I knew she would be. But I also knew I had to tell her all of this. Not just to fill her in on what happened to me but she needed to know about them.

"Where are the girls now?"

"Presumably, they're still at the prison. They probably think they are in big trouble since they're in a prison. I just didn't know where to go with them that they would have proper care. Now I feel terrible about it."

"Don't, Zuko. You were trying to help them. So then what happened?"

"It was late by that point so I went back to my airship to get some sleep when I heard one of the doors open. You know, those heavy steel doors? I'd challenge anyone to open those doors quietly. I liked it that way. I got up and went out into the hallway, ready for a fight but I was ambushed. There must have been six people who jumped me. They tied me up, took me out of the airship and back to the house and to the room where the girls were. I thought they were trying to be ironic. I was there for a few days, just laying on the ground, still bound, when I heard several people entering the house and fighting with my kidnappers. Then I felt a sharp pain on the back of my head and next thing I knew I was waking up to your face in our bedroom."

Sam deliberated for a moment and stood up and walked over to the door. She stuck her head out, said something I couldn't make out and then came back over to me on the bed. She sat cross-legged facing me. She saw the look of questioning on my face.

"I just asked one of the servants to get word to the Kushitoa prison to send those girls here at once. We need to work with them as soon as possible." she explained. I let out a sigh of relieve. Good. I wanted them out of there.

"So, what did I miss?"

"You seem to remember most of it. I was sleeping when one of the guards came into our room and woke me. At that point, I knew something was wrong. As you know, they NEVER do that so there had to be something wrong. They told me and I gathered a rescue party. I gathered the best benders I could. I had Geshna and Shen stay with Izu-"

"WAIT! YOU CAME ALONG?!" I asked, surprised. I was hoping I was jumping to conclusions. Sam started at my exclamation.

"Yes, Zuko, I did. And I knew you'd disapprove of it, but I don't care. You're my husband. I needed to make sure you were ok. Azula came with me and so did Jok. Along with half a dozen of our best benders. We came on the rhinos - I rode with Azula."

"Sam! How could you leave Izumi alone during this whole thing?! What would have happened if neither of us came back? Not only Izumi, but the Fire Nation as a whole? If something happened to us both, then what would have happened to our reign?" I scolded her. She looked at me, sheepishly and then downcast her eyes.

"I…honestly I didn't even think about that. I was j-"

"Sam! You're the Fire Lady! You HAVE to think about that! Thank Agni everything worked out but you can't be so reckless." She looked at me and her brow furrowed. I had struck a chord.

"What about you, when you came to save me from the Ozai supporters? The same could be said of you!" she said. Ok, she had a point.

"You're right. I was reckless then too. We both have to be conscious of it. We can't risk it." I said.

"I know. Of course, you're right, Zuko. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so reckless but, good excuse or not, it's true. I wasn't thinking. I was only thinking of you. And getting you back." she looked down. I had upset her. I reached my hand over and cupped her face, tilting her head to look at me.

"It's ok, Sam. It all worked out in the end. So what happened next?" I asked. She smiled a small smile that did not reach her eyes and continued.

"Geshna and Shen stayed with Izumi to protect her and we rode to Kushitoa. We left the rhinos behind and we snuck in and took them down one by one. Once we got to you, two of the guards carried you to the airship and we got a doctor who was nearby and brought him back to the palace then we sent him back on a rhino and with an escort. I want to send some kind of compensation to him. He served you very well and he should be rewarded for it. Anyway, we brought you in here and…well…I took off your clothes, bathed you and then put on your sleeping pants. It wasn't easy. You're heavier than you look." she looked up at me and smirked. She was a tall, yet slender woman who I outweighed by quite a bit. I had no idea how she managed to do that.

"How did you get me into the tub?"

"I didn't. I bathed you here, on the bed."

"How in Agni's name did you do that?"

"I filled a basin with soapy water and went over your body with a sponge. And rinsed you with a non-soapy basin. It wasn't hard. The hard part was getting your pants on." she said, laughing. She didn't know it, but she was the one thing that kept me grounded. Well, her and Izumi. But Sam was different. She helped me know the difference between good and evil more than anyone else. I shifted my weight and grimaced. I looked at Sam and she had seen it. Damn. Nothing got past her. "I think you need some rest, my love. Lay down."

"I think you're right. You stay with me?"

"Wild horses couldn't drag me away." she said. I still wasn't clear on what these horses were but always assumed they were similar to ostrich horses. I slid down til I was laying on the bed and Sam came over into our favorite position and we were both quickly asleep.