Not that Azula wanted to deal with her brother, or anyone else for that matter, but she'd rather get it over with than lay here for this agonizingly long amount of time. She almost wished someone, anyone, had stayed in the room with her. But alas she was alone and forced to lie in bed awake for what felt like eternity as she waited for someone to open that blasted door. Of course she wasn't actually being forced to stay in the bed, Zuko might not have locked the door and she probably could get up and go looking for someone, but that was the absolute last thing she wanted to do. So instead she lay there thinking of all the horrible things Zuko might have to say to her, strangely she couldn't think of anything. She has done awful things throughout her life, the majority of them while she was still speaking to her brother. But the last thing Zuko ever said to her was "I want to help you". She almost started crying at the memory; maybe she could've gone back.

She didn't have time to dwell on that fateful day because that was when the bedroom door finally opened, and standing there wasn't Zuko, but Sokka.

"Oh, hey" he said a little awkwardly, obviously he hadn't expected her to be awake.

"Hi" Azula said as she sat up, wincing a little as she did so.

"Be careful, the doctor said you bruised couple of ribs." Sokka explained as he stepped fully into the room and approached her bed.

"If that's all it is then I'm fine" she claimed but Sokka was still standing over her in worry, not that she could understand why. "So what, Zuko didn't want to deal with me himself?" She asked bitterly when it became apparent that Sokka wasn't going to say anything.

"Hey Zuko, Mai, and I have been switching off who checks on you. Right now it just happened to be my turn." He answered her

"So Mai and Zuko ended up back together?" She asked with a small smirk, she had heard about it when they broke up but she always knew that wouldn't last.

Sokka nodded, "yeah, I'll got tell Zuko you're awake" he said and he started to leave but Azula, though she wasn't quite sure what possessed her to do so, stopped him.

"Wait" she said and he stopped and turned back, "how long have I been out?" She asked, not being able to think of anything else to say.

"A few hours" he said with a shrug and he was going to try and leave again but there was something about Azula that just seemed off to him, she looked almost… afraid. "I, uh, I told Zuko about Mika" he said and Azula rolled her eyes.

"Of course you did" she muttered

"Hey she's his niece, he has a right to know." Sokka defended

"I know I know" Azula mumbled, "I supposed you also told Mika about Zuko in the one night you had her" she joked but upon seeing Sokka's flustered face she found herself staring at him in disbelief. "You didn't" she dared but she knew that he had.

"I only said you have a brother, who used to have anger issues" he added that second part after a moment of thought.

Azula couldn't help but face palm "God Sokka, I know you like to push my buttons but seriously? Please tell me you didn't say anything about my past?" It was more of a question than a plea. But the look on his face once again said it all and Azula tilted her head back, eyes shut tight in frustration. "What did you say?" She demanded through gritted teeth.

"I told her that her mother is one of the most talented benders I have ever met," he confessed and as he spoke he found himself taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "I didn't know you had stopped bending, I'm sorry" he apologized.

Neither of them said anything for a minute, Sokka was trying to figure out what he should do and Azula was trying to decide between being angry with Sokka or grateful that he had started the confessions she knew she would one day, apparently one day soon, be forced to face.

"Can I ask you what happened? To make you stop bending?" Sokka questioned and with a sigh Azula told him the story.

She told him how she was taken in after running away, about Jong's training and her desperation to be as good as she used to be, and about how she killed her little brother.

Towards the end of the story tears began to well up in Azula's eyes, which she was half expecting from the beginning. What she wasn't expecting was that before she could even wipe them away once, Sokka put his arms around her in a hug and pulled her close to him. She found herself crying into his chest as he kept one hand buried in her hair and the other gently rubbing her back, purposely keeping it between her shoulder blades so not to irritate her injured ribs. Azula tried not to but she clutched the back of Sokka's shirt almost desperately, as if she were to let go of the fabric then he would let go of her. Aside from Azula's crying the two of them were silent. Sokka didn't try to assure her that what happened was an accident and she should move on, nor did he say that it was her fault. He just held her and let her cry.

Even after she stopped crying Azula and Sokka just sat there on the bed in each other's arms for what didn't seem like long enough for either of them, but that was when Sokka finally got up.

"I should go tell Zuko you're awake, he'll be wondering what's taking me this long." He said and as he went to leave Azula could've sworn he looked almost like there was something else he wanted to say, but she couldn't place it.

"Sokka" she called out just as he reached the door and so he turned around again. "Thanks" she said with a small smile, though the smile he gave her was bigger it was just as sweet.

"No problem"

Azula wasn't sure how her next 'visit' was going to go; but she thought she could at least count on the fact that it was Zuko, apparently she couldn't. The door opened and Mai entered the room, not looking much different than she had eighteen years ago. She had grown a little and was dressed in more dark red than black now, and her hair was in one small bun instead of two, but for the most part she looked the same.

"Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse," Azula groaned, her defensive wall rising up instantly.

"Hello to you too" Mai replied dryly as she entered the room, carrying something in her arms. "Zuko's coming in a few minutes, I just thought you might like to change first." She said before dropping what she was carrying onto the bottom of the bed, revealing it to be a plain, long sleeved, red robe. "Your clothes are disgusting" the bleak woman said as she left the room when she noticed her former friend looking at the robe in confusion.

Azula didn't understand why Mai was helping her, but she was gone before she could be asked. So, figuring that she may as well change, she stood up and took the clothes. The pain in her ribs made her wince with just about every step she took, but she soon adjusted and changed with ease.

"So what took you so long?" Toph asked a couple minutes after Sokka returned and told Zuko that Azula had woken up.

"I was just talking to her," Sokka answered with a very annoyed tone of voice, he knew where Toph was trying to steer this conversation.

"Whatever you say," the blind woman replied with a smirk, Sokka grimaced at her but said nothing.

She had just finished changing when there was a knock at the door, and she opened it to see Zuko standing there.

"Hate the long hair," she said almost as dryly as Mai would after the two siblings spent a minute or two looking each other over.

She turned back into the room, almost hoping Zuko wouldn't follow her, but of course he did.

"How are you feeling?" He asked once the door was closed, Azula still wouldn't turn back around to face him.

She shrugged in response, trying not to wince in pain again. "I've been better, but I've also been worse" she answered.

For a moment it was quiet again, Zuko was never good at saying the right thing and Azula didn't feel like being the one to initiate conversation.

"Sokka told me, about Mika" Zuko finally settled on.

"What was there to tell? I never told him that much and he had her for less than a day, I doubt even she could've talked that much." Azula replied, finally turning to look at her brother.

His face was strange, set in some type of cross between disappointment, anger, and possibly even guilt.

"Azula why didn't you come back? I could've helped you, I wanted to help you!" Although she understood it, Azula hated how desperate he was for answers. "Do you have any idea how many trips we made into Forgetful Valley looking for you? Me, Mom, Ikem, and Kiyi?" He demanded, "I think Kiyi still goes out!" He was close to shouting now, tears beginning to fall from his eyes.

Azula was fighting her own tears as well; deep down a part of her had known that someone in her family was probably looking for her all these years. But hearing it was another thing. Still, she kept her own emotions at bay long enough to meet her brother's gaze and give him the only answer she could think of at the moment, the truth.

"I'm sorry" she said, "I am so sorry for everything that I put you through, but you have to understand who I was." Her voice was beginning to crack now, "I was fifteen Zuko. I was a kid. A child who's mother abandoned her at the age of seven and took with her all hope of ever being anything but a monster! I had already lost one parent so I did everything I could to be what father wanted and when I failed I completely lost my mind! I truly believed that my mother, who was living hundreds of miles away, had somehow set up everything in my life to break me! I was so lost that I nearly killed her!" Tears were now streaming down her cheeks and she took a minute to calm her voice. "I was scared Zuko, I was terrified that if I went back I would do something I'd regret. Running away was the only way I could be sure that I wouldn't hurt anyone." She sobbed and Zuko just stared at her, shocked.

"Azula" he said, almost astonished that she could break like this. He reached out his hand and placed it firmly on her shoulder as she dried her tears. "I know you can't stay, because I'm sure your daughter has no idea where you are and is scared. But please come back someday" he asked of her and after she nodded in agreement Zuko smiled and, for the first time since his sister was a baby, he hugged her.

Author's Note: Hey guys, ok so first off i want to say thanks so much for the reviews! I am amazed at how many people like this story, it's my first Sokkla fic so i really had no idea what i was getting myself into. Second I've just realized that i've made a lot of references to Forgetful Valley and some people reading this may not know what i'm talking about. For those of you who haven't read "The Search" comic (if you don't like spoilers STOP READING THIS NOTE) Forgetful Valley is a spirit forest in the fire nation which Azula ran and disappeared into at the end of "The Search". It's just outside of a village called Hira'a where the gang found Ursa living. She had remarried a man named Ikem and they have a daughter named Kiyi, both of whom i mention in this chapter. Just though i'd clear that up!