Ah, the next chapter in our epic story begins now.
Disclaimer: I'm not Bryke so I can't claim any possession over the Avatar series. It's sad, but it's true.
Bittersweet Reunion
It seems like it had been a lifetime for Katara. Day in and day out she had been waiting for something to change and yet, nothing seemed to go right.
For the longest time she had been hoping to avoid becoming the average Water tribe woman. She hadn't wanted to be known as a wife, a cook, or a cleaner. She didn't want to be a simple woman.
Yet for some reason here she was sitting in a small room in her home piecing together an outfit as she waited for him to come. The hawk had come just this morning, informing the people of the South that the Fire Lord intended to come for a visit with his very sick son.
That Zuko had to come to see her let her know exactly how sick the young prince was. They were never supposed to try to meet face to face after she left the Fire Nation. It was the agreement she insisted he sign before she boarded the boat that brought her back home.
All she'd wanted at the time was to just come home and be a water bender. Of course, she hadn't realized just how complicated her home had become in her absence. In a matter of relatively short years the Southern Water tribe looked similar to the North.
Katara wasn't very sure if this was a good thing or not. The way the North had always viewed women was not how Katara wished to be viewed. She wasn't a trinket. She was a master Water bender. She was a woman who had helped to save the world from Ozai and the Fire Nation the mad man had wished to create.
She had gone to the Fire Nation for years in an attempt to help Zuko bring peace to a world that had been trying to piece itself back together. And now she was expected to just settle down and have a bunch of children.
As her father and Master Pakku had learned, Katara was having none of it. She hadn't married, but she still held hope that she would find someone that she felt comfortable enough to spend her life with. She certainly didn't have any love left to give to a man, not after all she had gone through.
A gentle knock at the door drew her attention. Katara set aside her sewing to make her way to the door. Her Gran stood at the other side, her wrinkled face smiling sadly. "The ship has arrived. I thought you might wish to get a preliminary understanding of the boy's illness."
Katara nodded absently as she pushed past her grandmother. She hurried as fast as she dared to the entrance to the city. In the short distance she saw the smoke from the Fire Nation ship. She waited with many of the curious people for the large ship to dock.
The moment the ship dropped anchor Katara pushed her way to the front of the crowd. Zuko already stood on the deck with a bundle in his arms waiting impatiently to be allowed to exit the ship.
Katara felt her heart skip a beat. Her breath caught. He hadn't changed at all since she'd seen him last. He was just as handsome as she remembered. He was so tall and strong. Maybe there was a little haggardness to his looks, but with a sick child that was to be expected.
His eyes caught her, refusing to let go. Katara struggled with the love sick being within her wanting to be in Zuko's arms. It was difficult to push those feelings aside, but she was forced to because this was the life she had chosen.
"Katara," Zuko said quietly when he stood right before her. She said nothing as he pulled back the blanket that wrapped around his son. "He's so cold. I don't know what to do."
Katara reached for the forehead noting absently that, yes, the child was quite cool to the touch. "Come with me so I can examine him properly."
She led the Fire Lord away from the prying eyes of the villagers. She noticed that Uncle followed as well. Katara turned to Zuko, a silent question in her eyes. Zuko too turned his attention to his uncle. "He might as well come. He's worried about Lu Ten as well."
She nodded. Once in the safety of her house Katara led the men to the separate room she had attached to her bedroom.
"Lay him down on the free space in the bed please." Zuko did as she bid him. She guided Uncle to the chair that she had earlier vacated. With him out of the way Katara turned back to the bed. "You took a very long time getting here Zuko."
Zuko sighed. "I didn't know until he'd been unconscious for three days. Hell it was probably going on for much longer knowing the way people in my own palace have been hiding information from me."
Katara made an impatient sound as she began to examine Lu Ten. "What happened to you after that? You should have come here immediately." She turned briefly to the corner Iroh occupied. "Not that I'm not glad to see you Uncle. It's just that when it comes to my children I'm very protective."
Iroh nodded, not taking the slightest offence. "My dear I totally understand what you mean. Please, ignore the old man for a moment."
"We don't have time for this," Zuko practically shouted.
Katara turned a scathing glare in his direction. "Kuzon told me months ago that you were supposed to be here with Lu Ten. For months my baby has been suffering high fevers."
That stopped Zuko cold. "Kuzon's sick too?"
Katara nodded toward the second lump on the bed. "At first he just complained that he was a little hot during the night. Then at the beginning of the summer months he contracted a fever that he hasn't woken from. I would have come to you, but he promised me that you were coming. He said Lu Ten was coming to him."
She passed Zuko stones to be heated with his bending. When the stones were hot she packed them into the bed around Lu Ten to keep him heated. "At least your absence allowed me a chance to do some research."
"Did you find out something?" Zuko asked. His face held so much hope that Katara had found something that could help their children.
But what had to say wasn't exactly a good thing. "It's us," Katara said. "We're opposites, fire and water. Our bending is not meant to mesh together, so their bending is also out of sync. That's why I needed you here earlier."
~*~
Zuko fell back against the wall. It was his fault. He was to blame for the sickness of his children. He slid down the wall as despair hit him full force. He was just like his father. He ruined his son's life; he ruined both of their lives.
He thought back to the two infants when Katara had just given birth. They were so little and so fragile then. It had been hard then to know that he was expected to give up one of his sons for the sake of Katara's happiness. But he had been left with a strong son at least.
And now, he finds that neither was healthy. How could he have done this to the two most innocent beings he had ever had the pleasure to meet? What had possessed him to think that he'd been deserving of having sons as wonderful as Lu Ten and Kuzon.
Just before he was at the point of breaking down he felt the slim arms of Katara wrapping around him. "It's okay Zuko. They'll be okay. Both of the boys will be okay. I know what we have to do."
Zuko didn't care that his uncle was in the room. He allowed himself to break down. He was tired with the lack of sleep. He was frustrated with his nation. He felt very guilty about what was happening with his children.
He was a damn wreck and he knew it.
~*~
Katara held on to Zuko tightly. She had no idea what was going on with him. But if she had to take a guess based on his current behavior, then she knew that things were not going well with him.
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea that she left the Fire Nation when she did. It was clear that his nation wasn't treating Zuko the way he needed to be treated.
She rubbed circles along his back. "Take a break Zuko," she told him softly. "Go lie down in the other room and get some rest. I will take care of everything on this end. Uncle and I will do what we need to do while you take care of yourself."
He tried to fight her, but she was not about to allow him to do it. It was impossible to take care of two sick children when she had Zuko being sick at the same time.
She walked him into her bedroom where she left him in the bed. The moment his head hit the pillow his eyes closed. His breathing deepened into the quiet rhythm of sleep. Katara ran her hands through his hair, soothing him further. She waited a short time longer just to ensure he didn't awaken before she returned to where she left Uncle.
Iroh had moved closer to the bed where Lu Ten and Kuzon lay. "I suppose it is strange to be surprised that this would happen when two opposing elements mixed."
Katara sighed. "The twins aren't the first mixture of elements to be found according to a text I read. This would not have happened if Zuko and I had either remained together or conducted our baptism ceremonies together. We did not introduce those separate entities to the other, forcing them to fight."
Iroh nodded. "Then I assume that you know what must be done to reverse this illness?"
Katara approached the bed. She watched her sons in their unnatural sleep. "It's easy. We take them to the temple of Agni and La. I will indoctrinate Lu Ten in the ways of the Water tribes. Zuko will do what he needs to do with Kuzon. After that, they should return to health quickly."
But she wasn't really sure. No one had ever conducted baptisms this late in a child's life. What if it actually had an adverse affect on the twins?
She pushed the thought firmly from her mind. She refused to think that way. She had to have faith that her sons would live through this. And when the twins got better she knew she would then direct the full of her fury on the Fire Nation.
It wasn't her responsibility, but she was worried about Zuko and Lu Ten. That Zuko had no idea Lu Ten was ill meant he worked too hard for his own good. That other people noticed and had not informed Zuko was completely unacceptable.
She wasn't so much angry at Zuko as she was furious with the people Zuko employed in his palace. When it was over she was going to help Zuko implement the changes that needed to be made. If anyone thought they could keep her son's health from the people who loved him the most, they had another thing coming.
If she had to she was going to rip apart the entire staff of the Fire Nation to ensure the safety of the men under her protection. It would stop her from feeling so useless in the Southern Water tribe at least.
She turned to Uncle, her mind working overtime. "We can afford to allow Zuko to rest for one night. It'll give us time to ensure the ship is ready. I want this trip complete so that we can concentrate on what is most important, helping Zuko take care of his nation."
At Iroh's nod Katara allowed a smile to touch her lips. She leaned over to kiss the foreheads of both of her children. She was doing this for her boys and that included Zuko.