It was dead quiet. Katara had taken Mika up to the bedroom for the healing session, claiming that the bed would be more comfortable than the couch. So Azula was sitting alone in the living room, everyone else was outside looking at the stars, they had asked her to join them but she refused. A part of Azula wondered if Katara was really trying, if she would actually try and save Mika despite the identity of her mother. She quickly pushed this thought aside, she knew things between her and Katara were still far from forgiven but the water tribe woman would never go so far as to let Mika die just to cause Azula pain.

Azula's thoughts were then interrupted by the door sliding open; somehow she wasn't surprised when Sokka entered the room.

"Aang left with Kya and Bumi to go get something to eat" he said but Azula gave no response. It was quiet for another minute or two before she finally spoke up.

"Thank you for lying to Mika" she finally said but Sokka only looked at her curiously.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, "I didn't lie, yeah I left out a few details but I didn't lie." He confessed, taking the empty seat next to her on the couch.

"Right, like you meant what you said about me." Azula scoffed and Sokka just looked at her, his face more serious than she had ever seen it.

"I did. When you fell off that airship I was just waiting for Zuko to tell Aang to turn around and go back for you. But then you blasted yourself towards the cliff and used that headpiece to save your life. For a year that was the last I saw of you, hanging onto the side of a cliff so sure that the fight wasn't over. I'll admit back then a few words came to mind that wouldn't really be compliments but what I said to Mika was true even then, I couldn't believe what I was seeing." He explained and Azula stared only blankly ahead.

"Well then we're even, an hour ago I couldn't believe what I was hearing." She said and Sokka chuckled just a little.

It was quiet again and Azula could feel Sokka's eyes on her. He was studying her again. She couldn't tell what he was looking for but she let him. She let herself just sit there, almost completely still, as he eyes searched her for something.

"Look I know you don't need me here-" he finally began but surprisingly he was cut off.

"You're wrong," she said and he just looked at her, stunned. Finally she faced him, her face almost pleading. "You know it too. If you really believed I don't need you then you would've stopped offering help a long time ago. What I don't understand is why that mattered? After everything why do you care that I need someone?" She asked and Sokka seemed to genuinely consider the question.

"You know what I'm just now realizing about that girl on the cliff side?" He asked instead of answering but Azula played along.

"What?" She asked

"That what seemed amazing to me was just another day to her. She thought fast enough to pull that stunt because she knew if she didn't save herself then no one would. She grew up soothing her own nightmares, drying her own tears, and saving her own life on a daily basis." He stopped and looked up at her but her face showed almost nothing but remorse. "I care because the next time I saw that girl she had cracked from the loneliness, and I spent the following seventeen years wondering what could've happened to her if we had turned back." He concluded but when Azula didn't say anything he took a real risk, he pulled her into a hug.

She didn't push him off; in fact she gripped her arms tightly around his neck and laid her head against his chest.

"I know it's a little late for this, but I promise I won't ever abandon you." He promised her and Azula knew she shouldn't believe him, but she did.

When Aang returned home, Kya asleep in his arms and Bumi still wide awake, he didn't hear a single voice in the house. He assumed Katara was still upstairs with Mika, she had said that it could take a few hours. He wondered if Sokka was still here, he probably was but then again he may have gotten tired and gone home. He wasn't sure if Azula would still be here or not, though he doubted she would go home without her daughter.

"Daddy should we wake them up?" Bumi's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Slightly confused, Aang went and looked through the open door to the living room where he saw an almost unbelievable sight.

Sokka and Azula were both lying on the couch; sound asleep in each other's arms.

"No Bumi, let's just let them sleep" he answered with a small smile, once he got over the initial surprise the avatar was actually happy to see his friends asleep together; they just looked like they belonged this way.

"Can I go see if mommy's done with Mika?" Bumi asked now, a more pleading look in his eye.

"Sorry Bumi but mom needs it quiet upstairs." Aang answered but Bumi only continued to pout.

"I just want to see if they're done!" Bumi whined, clutching the doll in his right hand just a little tighter.

They had stopped in at store in the city to get Mika a get well present, Bumi's idea, and he had picked out the little cloth doll with a red dress and brown yarn hair which he carried all the way home to ensure that it wasn't damaged. Aang had almost laughed at the big deal his son made out of the present, he just wanted to help and so he was going to take any way to possibly do that very seriously.

"We're done but Mika needs some rest" Katara's voice said, she was coming down the stairs and Aang could tell that she wasn't nearly as calm as she looked. "She's sleeping in the guest room, do NOT go in there." She instructed Bumi who frowned but nodded obediently before running off to go to his own room.

"How'd it go?" Aang asked as Katara took her sleeping daughter from him with a heavy sigh.

"I tried everything I could think of, I'm not sure if anything helped though." She admitted.

"So what do you think?" He asked seriously.

"Well she's still alive so that's good" Katara answered before sighing again. "If she wakes up-" she began

"When she wakes up" Aang interjected and Katara nodded.

"When she wakes up, I'll examine her again and she'll probably end up staying here another night. Is Azula still here?" She asked and Aang couldn't help but snicker as she pointed to the open doorway.

Katara followed her husband's finger, though judging by his face she wasn't so sure she wanted to. When she turned her head she was met with the sight of her brother and their former enemy curled up together on the couch. Katara figured that Aang was waiting for her to explode, so instead she smirked and turned back to him.

"After all the times he's interrupted us like that do you think we should return the favor?" She asked with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Aang considered the suggestion, as well as the past couple years of his life, for a moment before shaking his head.

"Not tonight, but I'm sure we'll get another chance." He replied and Katara silently agreed, stealing one last glance at the two on the couch before leaving to tuck Kya in.

When Azula woke up to the unfamiliar walls of the living room she almost panicked, almost. Before she could it dawned on her where she was, she was on Air Temple Island and had more than likely fallen asleep on the couch. Relief now setting in, she tried to get up but ended up nearly panicking again upon noticing that something was holding her down. She looked down at her waist to find a tan skinned arm wound around it and gave a frown. Now she was more annoyed than anything, because she was sure that even after what was said during the night she and Sokka are no more than friends, and who knows who saw them like this. She tried to move his arm and get up without waking him but that only proved that Sokka is a surprisingly light sleeper.

"Hm?" He grumbled as he awoke, moving his arm, which allowed Azula to get up.

"Thought you'd be a heavier sleeper" Azula smirked as she got up but Sokka merely shrugged, now sitting up on the couch.

"I used to be but once we added Toph to our group I learned to sleep with one eye open" he admitted and Azula actually laughed at that.

"By that time Zuko and I were both hunting you, you weren't already sleeping with one eye open?" She asked and he smirked.

"You guys weren't as much of a threat, the first morning with Toph I wound up ten feet in the air." He commented and Azula rolled her eyes.

"Right" she said like she didn't believe what he was saying. Sokka thought about protesting but decided that the issue could be dropped. Besides it was technically the second or third morning, maybe the fourth, the actual amount of time Azula and her friends had spent hunting them those first couple days with Toph was still unclear to him.

Azula quickly brushed her fingers through her hair before she tied it up in a messy ponytail. Sokka couldn't help it, he just found himself staring. There was something about how she raked through the knots of her hair with her fingers; something so… well he couldn't put his finger on it but he knew it mesmerized him. He finally snapped out of it when she pulled it into her ponytail and tied it, then turned back to him looking almost uncertain.

"So what now?" She asked and that was when it occurred to Sokka that she really didn't know what to do with herself.

He was about to answer, but that was when reality hit him. They had fallen asleep, the night was over, and now once they left this room they would know if Mika survived or not. So with a sigh he stood up, almost smirking as he realized that when they were this close he nearly towered over Azula.

"Now we hope for the best," he answered before opening the sliding door, which someone must have closed at some point during the night.

Azula didn't know what she expected to find outside of the living room. Maybe she thought she'd hear crying, or maybe someone smiling. What she hadn't expected was the silence. Looking to Sokka showed that he appeared as confused as she was, she figured he had probably been expecting to at least hear his nephew running throughout the halls.

"Come on" he said as he started walking down the hallway, Azula obediently followed.

He led her into a small dining room down the hall where, much to their surprise, both Bumi and Mika were sitting in silence and picking at their bowls of oatmeal. When the two adults entered the room the children each perked up, Bumi more than Mika. Azula noticed that sitting on Mika's lap was a doll that she had never seen before but she decided not to ask about it yet, she was too relieved to see her daughter alive.

"My tummy still hurts" was the first thing she said and it nearly broke Azula's heart, she wasn't any better.

Before she could say anything Katara entered the room holding a bag, which she threw to Sokka who barely managed to catch it.

"You're lucky I made you breakfast, you're already going to be late for work." She scolded her brother who didn't look the least bit concerned.

"Hey he's going to be late for school!" Sokka exclaimed, pointing a finger at Bumi.

"Bumi had a rough night and since it's Friday and he only has one absence I told him he could stay home today." Katara explained which prompted Mika to look over at her mother.

"Mommy-" she began

"You're not going either," she said.

Sokka then left the room grumbling that he still had plenty of time to get to work, even if he had to stop at his apartment to change out of yesterday's clothes. Once he was gone Azula turned her attention to Katara.

"Seems you're still in charge of him" she sort of joked

"He hasn't changed much" Katara responded, "could you come give me a hand in the kitchen?" She asked and Azula nodded before following her through the doors.

"So how'd it go?" Azula asked in a soft voice once the sliding door was securely closed, she knew better than to think that Katara hadn't actually asked her in here to help.

Katara sighed as she leaned against the wooden counter and sadly shook her head.

"I'm sorry. I tried everything I could think of but I examined her again after she woke up this morning, she had only improved a little and I don't think even that's going to last long." She admitted, hanging her head in defeat.

Azula knew it shouldn't have shocked her, but it did. How could it not? She had known this was possible, but just to hear that it would become reality; she thought it might kill her.

"I'm sorry Azula" Katara said again, watching her old enemy closely for a reaction. She didn't give one. She just nodded and looked back at the doorway to the dining room. "She's a strong girl, I don't think there's anything left I can do for her but there is still a chance-" she began but she was cut off.

"Please don't say that" Azula quietly interrupted, "I appreciate what you're trying to do but the last thing I need in my life is false hope." She continued and Katara nodded

"Do you want to tell her?" She asked

"I don't know" Azula answered.

Mika fainted a few more times, over the course of the next four days she fainted a total of six times. Each time Azula held her breath, waiting anxiously for her little girl to wake up. On top of that whenever she was awake she said that her stomach hurt and her jaw ached, both of which Katara said were symptoms of a weak heart. Her jaw got so bad that she wouldn't eat anything more than oatmeal. She stayed with Katara on Monday while Azula was working and the water bender tried to help her more but in the end found she couldn't do much but was pleased to find that the girl's tiny bit of improvement didn't appear to have gotten worse.

It was that night when Azula was sitting in bed with Mika laying next to her; despite having her back to her mother Azula knew she was awake. She hated seeing her daughter suffer like this, and almost wished that she would just die already. If she was going to then why did she have to hang on so long and force her mother to watch her suffer? It was pure torture!

"Mika" Azula said gently

"No" Mika responded stubbornly; she knew what was coming.

Azula sighed, she didn't expect her daughter to say anything else but to her surprise she rolled over and did.

"Why do you want me to die?" She asked, tears already streaming down her face.

Azula was taken back by the question, but she'd be lying if she said she never considered all her hopeless talk could lead Mika to such a conclusion.

"I don't want you to die baby," she promised, reaching over to wipe away her daughter's tears. "I just hate watching you suffer," she admitted.

"I'm sorry, but things always get worse before they get better." Mika said and Azula couldn't help the small smile that found its way onto her face, when did her daughter get so wise?

She didn't say anything, how could she? Mika truly believed that she could beat this, what kind of a mother could destroy that kind of hope for a four-year-old?

That sixth time was the last time Mika fainted. She woke up groggy the next morning as she had been recently but when Azula gave her her oatmeal she insisted that she wanted a banana instead. Figuring that Mika was probably just tired of eating oatmeal and didn't care that a banana only required just a little more chewing, she didn't argue. What really surprised her was what she found when she went to pick Mika up from Katara's after work. Mika had lost most of her strength and so whenever Azula picked her up, be it from Sokka's or Katara's, she was either playing quietly with her dolls or, if it was Katara's house, she and Bumi might be playing with the baby. But this time, as soon as Katara opened the door, Azula saw Bumi and Mika running through the hall in a game of tag.

"How is she?" Azula asked, honestly curious.

"She perked up a little as you can see. I checked her out this afternoon, since she had so much energy. Her heartbeat is still weak but it's regular." Katara replied; her slight amazement showing in her voice and Azula was amazed to. Mika's heartbeat had been irregular since Katara first examined her, for it to have steadied itself was almost unreal.

Mika soon returned to school and began eating solid foods again. After a few more healing sessions Katara declared that her heart was still weak and most likely would remain so for the rest of her life, but it was steady and clearly strong enough for Mika to survive on. All the adults, even Katara and her science-believing brother, called it a miracle; Mika just called it "I told you so".

Author's note: Hey guys so i just wanted to say that i just received a review of someone saying what they thought was going to happen in this chapter and i was so mad at myself for not thinking of it because it would've worked really well! So I'm leaving this note to tell you guys that this story has gone way off track from my original idea and, although i love how it's turning out, i'm basically making up each chapter as i go trying to get it back on track with my planned ending. I have the main idea for the next chapter but please, if anyone has any suggestions on what you would like to see/what you think should happen, please either leave it in a review or PM me!