Writer's Note: I have no explanation for this other than when I feel sick and overtired I write unhappy fics. Sorry.

Warning: Takes place post series and contains spoilers. Also takes place after "Occupational Glory".

Alone

Everything was dark and damp. Even with his eyes open only a slit, Zuko could see it, and could feel it in the stone beneath his limp hands. With a faint cough, he shut his eyes, unable to move from his awkward place on the ground. Something was jutting into his stomach, but he found he lacked the energy to even shift away from it. Even if he tried, he knew it would hurt. There was just no point in bothering to try.

So instead, he kept his eyes closed and just focused on breathing, realising that even that was difficult and took too much of an effort. He could barely remember how it all came to this, really - the fogginess and dull throbbing in his head saw to that - but as he tried to centre his thoughts on staying alive, the blurred memories came to his mind, and he concentrated on them, finding that their faraway warmth kept his heart beating.

"You have to do something about this, Zuko," Suki said, her eyes narrowed and fixed on the sheaf of papers in her hands. "You can't keep ignoring it and pretending that it will make it all go away. In a few months, Mai will give birth; we have to make sure this problem is solved long before then."

Zuko leaned back a little, wishing he could disappear. He knew that she was right, and knew that it was a good time to address it - and why he had made her his Royal Guard to begin with. But he also knew that what she said was true, as well: he really had thought that ignoring it for long enough would make it go away.

Suki set the sheaf of papers down, picking up her tea and sipping it slowly. Despite her actions, the immaculate paint on her face stayed in place. It always mystified him when he saw it. Her eyes stayed on his. With a groan, he rolled his eyes. "I know. I know I have to do something. I just...I'm no good with confrontation!"

With a frown, Suki narrowed her eyes, holding her cup under her lips. "If you keep avoiding it, it'll end up coming to you. At least this way you can set your own terms."

"Can't I just depend on you to do your job and protect me?" he snapped, frustrated with how much the truth stung.

She scowled at him. "Of course, because it looks wonderful to your people that their Firelord has to hide behind his Guard, who, by the way, is also an outsider."

"Mai put you up to this, didn't she?"

"No, Zuko, I'm actually saying it out of concern," she replied, setting the cup down. "There's been, what, five attempts in the past six months? And before then, two were close enough to death within the span of three years to actually cause national alarm. If you keep pushing it, your luck is going to run out."

She looked away, adding, "Plus, I don't like bothering Mai with things like this right now. You heard what both the Royal Physician and Katara said: any added stress could complicate her pregnancy."

Zuko rubbed his forehead, feeling a twinge of stress and worry. It was true, after all. For the first few months of her pregnancy, Mai had been just fine, and everything had been normal. But sometime around her fifth or sixth month, she started complaining about nausea and dizziness. The worst was when, in the middle of a treaty renewal, she just leaned over and passed out silently, without any warning to it whatsoever. It was then that both the Royal Physician and Katara told them both what they had feared along: Mai had inherited her mother's weak constitution for childbirth, and until the baby was born, she had to stay in bed.

If this wasn't bad enough, the fact that Mai was bored was worse (the walls in their bedroom would never be the same, thanks to hundreds of knives and shuriken being thrown into them), and Zuko found himself losing his patience easier and easier without her at his side.

And now, this.

"Damn," he muttered, squeezing his eyes shut.

"I know," Suki agreed. "But it's better to get this out now before they add a third target to their list."

Zuko's eyes snapped open, a bit of fear lancing into his guts. "What should I do?"

Suki reached into the pile of papers and pulled out one, holding it up to him. It was the only one that was actually hand-written - the others were mostly composed of characters cut and pasted from various newspapers and posters. "This is the one you should be worrying about. The other ones are generic and could be from anyone, since that style is used by those who don't want to be known but who want to make a point. This one is specific, in free-hand, and it takes up the bulk of the threats. This is the one you need to worry about."

Zuko took it, his eyes raking over the characters slowly. He could see that it was written in a hurry, as the author hadn't let the ink dry long enough to prevent smudging. As a result, some of the lines on various characters were blurry, but he could still make it out: Threats against Mai, threats against himself, and the worst: threats against their child.

Suki waited until he was done reading before going on. "Normally I would handle it, trace the writing and link it to any known records, but there are none for this writer - they've never been caught, and whoever they are is new to causing this kind of conflict."

Zuko nodded. Usually, when threats of this nature occurred, it was mandatory for the government to keep a record of each note. When a new one arrived, it would be compared to any of the old records in order to see if there was a kind of pattern. If this style was new, then it meant that it wasn't just an anarchist or generic hater of the monarchy.

It's new, specific - and against me, personally.

"I've done everything I can as Royal Guard to get to the bottom of this, but it's out of my league. It's up to you now, Zuko." Suki's face was so serious that it worried him. Suki always had a kind light in her eyes or a small smile on her face, but no hint of either graced her today.

"Okay," he said softly. "I'll look into it. I'll call them out."

During the next meeting with the diplomats and advisers from across the world, he did just that. "It probably hasn't escaped anyone's notice that lately, I've come down with a case of bad luck," he said, trying to keep his tone light. "And daily, messenger hawks seem to delight in reminding me of this. So as your Firelord, I request that all of you, as my partners in trying to keep the peace and restore the balance, that you please inform me of any unusual or negative behaviour that could conflict with that."

There was a silence. Then, one man raised a hand and said, softly, "You mean...you want us to inform you right now?"

Zuko fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes."

"But..." This speaker was a woman from the Northern Water Tribe. "None of us would dare such a thing. We all want peace just as much as you do, Firelord Zuko."

A man from the Earth Kingdom nodded. "Exactly. We're tired of burying our children."

Everyone within the room started nodding, voicing variations of the same agreement in strong and serious tones. Zuko clenched his hands tight into fists, struggling to regulate his breathing so as not to let the flames that flanked him grow.

They mean well... he thought. They're good people. But they're sort of...dumb, aren't they?

And it also meant that if they, his closest diplomats and advisers, had heard nothing, then the source was outside of his political influence, which made the search far more daunting, because it could literally be anyone...

So much for easy, he thought grimly.

"Ow," Zuko winced, pulling his head away from Mai's swelling stomach and pulling a face. "That kick caught me in the ear, hard!"

Mai smirked, one hand buried in his loose hair, the other at her side. "You probably got too close and pissed her off."

Zuko leaned back, resting his cheek there instead of his ear. "Her? You're sure it's a girl?"

Mai nodded. "Yep. A woman knows these things."

"Or," he smiled back. "You just asked Katara to check."

When she blushed and glared, he laughed. He then rubbed her stomach affectionately. "A girl, huh?" he said thoughtfully. "I hope she looks like you. You were such a cute little girl."

"True," Mai agreed with a smile. "I also hope she avoids getting your supreme dweebiness. Otherwise I'll have to put her up for adoption."

"You wouldn't."

"Watch me."

Zuko made a face, and she laughed, the sound like music to his ears. With the flurry of panic and worry and the increase of meetings, he hadn't had as much time to spend with her as he would have liked. She was really good about it, although she did tease him about getting so bored she would set the Palace on fire just to get out of bed, but beneath the empty threats he sensed a loneliness in her, and it saddened him.

Now that he actually had some free time for once, of course he would be spending it with her. It wouldn't last, but at least it was there.

"Are you okay?" she asked now, cupping a hand to his cheek. "Your eyes are dark, and it looks like you're worried about something."

Zuko shook his head slowly. "It's nothing," he lied, hating himself for it and knowing that, once she found out the truth, he would never hear the end of it. "Just some annoying things with the other diplomats."

Mai was silent, her dark yellow eyes impassive and guarded. In a split second, Zuko knew that she knew he was lying, and he wished he could take it back. But the damage was done, and something seemed to close off from her, for she pulled her hand from his hair and leaned away from him, turning to lie on her side.

"I'm getting tired now," she said, her voice flat. "I'd like to sleep."

"Okay," he murmured, slowly rising to his feet. He reached out to touch her shoulder, but she jerked away. The rejection hurt, but he knew he deserved it. Without another word, he walked out, realsing that he had to - had to, had to - put an end to this. Otherwise he would lose her, too.

Several years ago, when he and Mai had just married, Zuko learned that Mai was secretly infiltrating the capitol in the disguise of a commoner in order to root out and stop any plans for rebellion. He had been so angry at her, then, because she had been putting herself in danger, alone, without him there to help her, but now he could understand why she did it, and now he wished she was still able to do it - with her help, he would have been able to find out who was behind all of this in no time.

But she was angry, and he couldn't blame her. He had felt the same way when she had lied to him, as well. But, like her, he was doing this for the better.

Since his disappearances weren't completely unusual, no one thought it strange that he went missing. But instead of going to Ba Sing Se to visit Iroh, he stayed in the capitol, keeping to the shadows and wearing his hood low on his face. Even though he hadn't donned a mask in years, he still found himself falling into the old patterns he kept as the Blue Spirit. The ability to be out in the open without being noticed, the skill it took to be silent and quick all at once...he found he hadn't lost any of it, and found he was grateful for it.

However, perhaps he was a little rusty after all, for he only managed to make it to three bars before he was caught.

It had happened so suddenly, in the span of seconds, really. he had sat down, lowering his head into his hood and ordering a drink in a low voice, intent on merely listening and hoping to find some answers. He had only sat down for maybe ten minutes before he found himself surrounded by three men and two women. He didn't speak to them, pretending they weren't there and hoping that they would forget he was there, too, but he wasn't so lucky.

They grabbed him and dragged him off of his stool. He tripped, his hands scrabbling at the countertop for purchase as he jerked around to keep on his feet. When he turned to face them, they were ready for him, and he had to duck and throw himself to the sticky floor, missing the stream of fire by mere millimetres as it came towards his face.

"Hey!" One of the waitresses shouted. "No firebending in here! Take it outside!"

Absently, Zuko made a note of that - after all, he had banned Agni Kais, which meant that any kind of dueling was forbidden. However, he didn't have much time to focus on upholding the law, since he was too busy crawling along the floor and avoiding more blasts of fire aimed at him. With a yelp, he lurched to his feet, throwing himself towards the exit and hoping to lose them in the crowd outside.

Of course, they followed him.

When he managed to fling himself free of the place, Zuko found that the street before him was practically empty; there was no crowd to get lost in! With a racing heart, he looked around, trying to find some place to ferret away to and hide until he was in the clear; he knew he didn't stand a chance against the five of them, and even trying would probably get him killed.

When they burst out after him, he veered to the left, barely missing the hot burst of flame that one of the men threw at him. He tripped on his own feet and landed hard onto the ground with a grunt, the force of his fall enough to knock him breathless for a second.

It was enough for them to catch up, and enough for them to confirm that he was the one they were looking for. "Yep," one of the women said, her voice hard. "Look at the face. It's him."

That was enough to send a burst of adrenaline through his whole body, and he sat up hurriedly, intent on leaping to his feet and running as far away as he could.

But the hard foot to the ribs stopped any of that, and indeed any thought of that, from coming to pass. With a gasp, Zuko went back down, curling up on his side and momentarily just losing himself in that sharp ache. It was a good hit, and he was sure they hadn't known it, but whoever had kicked him knew just how to make it debilitating. He started to sit up again, to firebend or shout or just hide somewhere, but found himself falling over once more, the bite of pain too searing to override with adrenaline.

And it wasn't the last, he soon learned. It wasn't the last by a long shot.

When he woke up, he was in this damp and dark place, wracked with the pain of his injuries. They hadn't stopped beating him up, even when he started to bleed, and some caustic part of him also suspected they hadn't stopped even when he had passed out.

Slowly, Zuko tried to clench the hand that was pressed to the floor, but found his muscles wouldn't respond. He felt sick, but didn't even have the energy to vomit, much less move to his side to keep from suffocating from it.

He had blown it, big time. He knew that. Of all of the stupid things he had even done in his life, going out there, alone, knowing that someone wanted his head on a stick, without backup or telling anyone where he was going, was at the top of his list. Everyone would assume he was in Ba Sing Se; it could take days for anyone to find out the truth.

And by then, he would probably already be dead.

No, nonono. No, I can't give up... Uncle, Mother, Mai, Aang, someone, anyone, please, don't forget about me, don't let me give up, don't give up on me...

He coughed again, his eyes squeezing shut, the mere gesture enough to send him gasping for breath. Mercilessly, it was short, but it was enough to sap the strength from him. He blacked out again, even though his mind rallied against it.

"...dead yet?"

"Nah, he's still breathing. Dun put a mirror to his nose a bit back, and it fogged."

"Ugh. It's be hours. Anyone else would be dead."

"Probably a royalty thing."

"Why can't we just kill him ourselves?"

"Keeps our hands clean."

Zuko heard the voices, but he felt like they were miles away, even though some logical part knew they were close by. He found that his whole body was still encased in that red haze of pain, and when he tried to move, he groaned, unable to keep it in.

"He's awake."

"No kidding. Should we correct that?"

A pause, as if there was consideration. Zuko felt his heart race, trying to will his body to move, his eyes to open, anything, something, please, something, anything, do what I want you to do...

"Whoa. Listen to that."

"Won't be long, now."

There was laughter, but it was fading; they were walking away. Zuko froze, unable to comprehend what had just happened. What had they heard that made them give up?

But then he heard it, himself, his blood turning to ice with fear.

It was his breathing - it was jagged, loud, and in gasps. And the worst part was that he didn't even feel the pain he knew he was experiencing.

Won't be long, now...

Without control, Zuko found himself drifting in and out of consciousness. Every time his eyes closed, he fought it and lost. Every time he woke up, it was a battle to open them again. He still couldn't move, still couldn't ignore the pain, and even breathing sent jabs of pain through his body.

Each time he woke, he focused on staying awake and alive. He distracted his hazy mind with images of happiness, thoughts of Mai and Iroh, or his friends, his new family, of the past, with his mother... Each time a memory became clouded with misery, he had to struggle to fight it off, but each time it got harder. It was like his whole body was ready to give up, even though his mind and heart refused to do so. And when you're at war within your own body, well... it's not a happy experience.

I've done it before. I can do it again. I have so much more to lose...

But time was against him. Without water or food or anything to keep him warm, there was nothing keeping him from succumbing to his injuries. In hours, he found himself struggling to even remember the names of those he loved.

When that happened, he kept repeating the same mantra, over and over again in his head, without stop.

Never give up without a fight...never give up without a fight...never give up without a fight...

"Any second now."

Something clicked in his mind, that small part that still could understand words. He was unable to open his eyes now, barely able to keep his breathing consistent. Dimly, he realised that everything had gone numb long ago, and he could no longer feel the cold or the damp.

"Agni, it took him long enough. Once it's done we'll send the letter to the Palace. It should be enough."

"I dunno. It's hard to figure out what can set something like that off."

"Please. The wife is delicate already. Hearing her husband is dead will set a miscarriage off, no problem. Hopefully, as a result, both of them will die from it, and our problems are solved."

Zuko felt something, then, something sharp and bright and warm, deep within his breast. It was the first thing he had actually felt in hours. it throbbed, like an insistent heartbeat, and it took him a few moments to remember what it was called.

Rage.

"Haha, that would be one hell of a mourning period."

"A sweet one, for sure."

Another jab, hotter and more intense. He gritted his teeth so hard that his jaw ached, and it was a sweet feeling, because he actually felt it.

"Too bad Ozai has no fire. I'm sure he'd take over if he did."

"Maybe we can get the daughter to. She still has her fire, but she's crazy as hell."

"We could rule from the sidelines, both behind the throne and in her bed."

Another jab, and this time Zuko felt his fingers twitch, warmth spreading from his stomach to his fingertips. His eyes opened a slit, seeing blurry shadows that were vaguely shaped like people.

"Dead yet? I'm getting kind of excited about this."

"Almost, I think. His breathing just got bad again."

"What'll we do with the body after?"

"Bury it like a peasant's. It's all he deserves."

His fingertips sparked, his breath hot between his lips. Slowly, he could feel his body again, feel the pain and the nausea and the need to die to be free of it, but consuming all of that was the inexplicable and unstoppable rage.

"Uh, is that--?"

"Oh, holy shit, that's--!"

With every ounce of that rage, Zuko lashed out with his bending. He shut his eyes, but he was unable to block out the screams of pain and shock when it hit. The overwhelming smell of it forced him to choke, and suddenly he had nothing left. He gasped, trying to draw in fresh air, but all he could get was smoke, and he couldn't breathe.

No, no no, it can't...it can't end this way...

And then, nothing.

Air. Delicious and free of smoke. It was all he could focus on, all he wanted to focus on, and for a while, there was nothing else.

Until he heard words. "That's it, Zuko. Perfect."

Soft, a familiar voice. Encouraging and close by.

And suddenly he could feel again. And feeling hurt.

He winced, the gesture bringing up a horrible and guttural sound from his throat. "Easy, easy..." That same voice said, the tones soothing and familiar. "Don't move. Aang, give me that skin of water."

Aang?

Before he could focus, something was placed to his lips, and when it touched his throat, he felt himself tear up with relief - water, water...finally, water.

"Ah, Zuko, slow down..." The skin was pulled away from his lips, and he reached for it without thinking, before wincing again and holding his hands back against his body. "Don't move. Damn."

Something cold on his forehead made him exhale sharply. A hand, he realised. "Fever," a second voice said softly.

"No doubt," the first replied flatly. "Zuko, can you hear me? Can you talk?"

Carefully, he focused every shred of energy he had on opening his eyes. And they opened, just a shred, and all he saw were blurry images, but knowing that he knew the voices was enough to keep him from panicking.

"Hi," the first voice said softly. "Hi, Zuko. It's me, Katara. Do you know me?"

"Whoa, his eyes are so...blank."

The sound of a soft thud, followed by an "ow" of indignation, shortly followed. "Do you know me, Zuko?"

Gradually, as she spoke, Zuko could see the blurs sharpening into actual figures. They were dim, but not enough to mistaken them for anyone else.

With a swallow, he spoke, barely above a whisper. "Katara."

"Yes," she said, her eyes suddenly filling, her smile so wide it was almost painful. "Yes, it's me."

He shifted his gaze, and soon he saw that Aang was with her. "Hey," he said, his hand still on Zuko's forehead. "Welcome back."

Zuko started to talk again, but ended up coughing instead. Katara held him down gently until it passed, then said, "You're in one of the mines, Zuko."

The mines. The single, endless, constant thorn in his side. Left over from when Ozai was Firelord, Zuko and his friends kept finding illegally run mines using slave labour to harvest metals used for smelting. There were legal mines, overseen by officials appointed by Zuko that hired Fire Nation natives to work there for pay, but apparently they didn't do enough for those who wanted nothing but money out of the industrial business. Just when Zuko thought he had finally found the last of them, another one would pop up and ruin it for him.

Of course I'm in a damned mine, he thought bitterly. Of-damned-course.

"It's been three days," Aang broke in gently. "Since anyone last saw you. Since you left the Palace. It took us a while to find you. I'm sorry."

Zuko shook his head once, trying to convey that the fact that they had even found him was a miracle enough.

"We've already sent a hawk to the Palace," Katara said. "And there's already a palanquin on its way to bring you home. You're safe, now. We've got you."

Safe, he thought dimly, his eyes feeling so heavy after only moments of coherence. I'm safe...except I'm not. Except they're still out there, at least three of them, maybe more...

He closed his eyes. He didn't wake for a long time.

"...need your rest."

"Whatever."

Voices again. Soft, but terse. Familiar again.

"Don't 'whatever' me. You were the one that hired me as your personal attendant and midwife. You promised that you would listen to me!"

"Are you actually whining at me?"

"Are you actually fighting me on this?!"

The voices weren't so soft anymore, but Zuko didn't mind. He let them wash over him, using them to focus his mind on staying awake. He felt a little numb, like he was thawing out from something, and his body throbbed, but only with aches. The feel of long fingers through his hair brought a loud, slow sigh from him; it was such a nice feeling, and it distracted him from how drained he felt.

There was a silence, before the first voice said, "How is he awake? The medicines I gave him should have kept him under for at least a day."

"It's Zuko. Of course he's awake." There was the sound of rustling, right at his side, and then a familiar scent washed over him, and he sighed again. Gentle lips brushed over his nose, and he tried to smile, his fingers twitching. "I have that effect on him."

"Great, so he's awake." It was Katara, he realised. "So now that he's awake, you should go back and get some rest, Mai."

Mai. Unconsciously, he shifted closer, feeling her warmth on his left side and realising that she was right there, lying down beside him. She slid her arms around him and held him closer, and for a third time, a sigh escaped him, the warmth of her embrace relaxing tense muscles that he hadn't felt were tense.

"I'm in a bed. I'm lying down. Both you and Datsu didn't say that I had to stay in a specific bed."

"Now you're just being obstreperous."

Zuko felt himself smile wider. It had felt like only mere minutes ago he was resigned to the fact that he was going to die, and now he was surrounded by his wife and his best friend bickering. It was a sweet moment.

Another kiss, this time on his lips. "Hey," Mai whispered, her hands on his face. "Welcome back. I see you find it amusing that Katara is being controlling."

"I am not!"

"Just shut up and check his temperature, please."

A grumble, followed by the sound of footsteps and rustling clothes. Cool hands touched his forehead and neck, and he managed to open his eyes, just a bit, to a blurry image of Katara leaning over him with a scowl.

"Hi," she growled. "Your fever broke last night, and your ribs are cracked but are set. Your right arm is broken in two places, and your ankle is broken, too. You lost a lot of blood, but you should be fine if you stay in bed. Like your wife should be." This was all said in that grumbly one, with flashing blue eyes and deft hands that went over his wounds gently.

"Oh, pah," Mai answered. His eyes shifted over to her, and saw that despite her tone she was pale, her eyes shadowed and with dark circles underneath. He reached out with his left hand and touched her softly, his fingers landing on her thigh, and her eyes softened. "Hey," she said to him. "How're you?"

Zuko made a face, and both women laughed. Katara reached over to her side and held out a glass of water. Together, they helped him sit up and drink it slowly, Katara scolding when he tried to drink it too fast. It was cool and delicious, and with it, he found himself able to talk again.

"Hungry," he said, his voice low and hoarse.

"Not yet," Katara replied, giving his hair a ruffling (he made another face at that). "But the fact that you're hungry is good news. You had us worried."

"What happened?" he wondered, leaning back and relaxing; sitting up for too long was making him sore."How did you find me?"

Katara winced a little, and Mai leaned back with him, her expression cool and even. That was when he knew he was in trouble, especially when her eyes narrowed. "When you lied to me, I had you tailed."

Zuko's eyes widened. "You had me what?!" he burst out in disbelief.

"Tailed. Stalked. Watched. Whatever. You lied to me. You deserved it." Mai raised her chin defiantly. "I knew you were up to something stupid. Big surprise, I was right."

Zuko scowled a little, fighting the urge to pout, really. But then, he was also grateful, because if she hadn't done that...he shivered.

"The morons who watched you get beat up stupidly ran off to get help instead of helping you themselves or following the people who did it," Mai went on, her voice flat. "So we lost track of you for about a day or two, and it almost caused a scandal."

Katara's face darkened. "Especially when the pregnant wife of the Firelord held a meeting and yelled herself hoarse instead of staying in bed and letting us handle it."

Zuko's laugh burst out before he could stop himself. "You did what?" he repeated.

Mai glared at Katara, obviously displeased that her secret had been told. "I thought it was an inside job, and no one was offering anything. So I lost my temper. It's not the end of the world."

"Uh, yeah, they call you the Dragon Lady, now."

Zuko laughed again, so hard that his side ached, but he didn't care. The mental image was too hilarious to ignore. "Oh, how I wish I had been there."

"Anyway, Aang and I went on Appa and searched the whole capitol while Mai made a reputation for herself, following various rumours," Katara went on. "We were in the area, anyway, since I wanted to check up on a fishing town near the ocean. Mai knew, and sent a hawk to us right away."

Zuko vaguely remembered being told of this, too, but in the stress of the moment he had clearly forgotten.

"When they couldn't find you by sight, Aang was the one who thought to use his earthbending, and..." Mai sighed. "They found yet another mine."

"Dammit," Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose, the sudden reality of that crashing into him. "No matter what I do they keep coming back. It's like those bastards are breeding like rabbit-mice!"

"Yes, about that." Mai shifted a little in discomfort, but from what, he had no idea. "The group that kidnapped you...they're known to us."

Zuko pulled his hand away, looking over at her. "They are?"

"Yeah," Katara sat down on a stool at his right side. "The two men you burned...they lived, and they told us everything."

Zuko leaned forward. "And? Who are they?"

Mai and Katara exchanged a glance, one that Zuko knew all to well to be the "should-we-tell-him?" glance. "Who are they?" he repeated, louder this time.

"Zuko, calm down," Katara answered. "It's not something to panic over."

"Not something to panic over?" he repeated. "You didn't hear them! They want my entire family dead!"

"Zuko," Mai slid her fingers through his hair slowly, her eyes on his. "Your family is safe. It's okay."

Katara nodded. "Once they told us everything, we were able to catch the rest."

He froze. "The rest? It can't be that easy."

"It was." Mai tugged on his hair a bit.

"So then...who was it?"

Katara sighed. "Several months ago, I'm sure you remember that Suki caught a couple of spies trying to infiltrate the Palace as cleaning staff, right?"

Zuko nodded; it was one of Suki's greatest triumphs, after all.

"Well, Uncle Koryu took them into custody on the Boiling Rock, as you know," Mai cut in. "And when he interrogated them, he managed to find out that they weren't the only ones in their faction."

"Wait, no one told me this," Zuko burst out. "Why didn't anyone tell me this?"

Mai looked a little guilty. "I told them not to. You were already under enough stress. I thought it would be taken care of. But it wasn't. I'm sorry."

"So then, who sent them?"

"One of Ozai's old generals. Former General Yeng."

Zuko narrowed his eyes, his hands clenching into fists. "So then, my father is behind this?" he hissed, feeling his palms itch. "He's the one that started this?"

Mai's hands on his shoulders were firm. "No," she said softly.

"We asked him about it, and Toph confirmed it: he had nothing to do with it. Yeng did it all on his own, probably because he had lost his rank once Ozai lost the war," Katara said.

The writing on the death-threats, Zuko remembered. Written on thick and expensive parchment, with rich black inks that needed substantial amounts of sand to dry. Only the rich and noble could afford such things, and it explained why there had been no record of it - they weren't looking in the right archives. It also explained how that mine had gone undetected for so long.

He shut his eyes, leaning back again and exhaling slowly, trying to calm his anger. Mai stroked his hair again, and that helped. "Every single person who followed him is in our custody," she said, her voice suddenly hard. He opened his eyes and saw her eyes flashing, her face a perfect picture of unspent rage. "And they'll get what's coming to them."

"Now, however, you both need rest," Katara broke in, all stern and matronly once more. "I can escort you back to your room, Mai."

Mai didn't move. Her face stayed angry, only her eyes were fixed on Katara, now, instead. Zuko smirked a little, shifting closer to his wife and placing his left hand on her knee. "It's fine," he said. "There's no moving her anyway."

Katara sighed, rolling her eyes and getting to her feet. "You're both useless," she said in exasperation. "I'll be back in an hour with food and more medicine, and one of you had better be asleep. At this point, I don't care which." She waved, then left, her parting words softer: "I'm glad you're okay, Zuko."

"Me, too," Mai added, once they were alone.

"Me, three," Zuko quipped, smiling at her. She rolled her eyes, and he smiled wider. Without a word, Mai moved closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder and putting one arm around his neck, the other at her side. She shut her eyes, and Zuko slid his left arm around her, holding her close.

"You're an asshole," she murmured, her voice so soft that it almost broke his heart. "Don't lie to me to protect me. I don't need protection."

"I know," he answered, resting his cheek on her head. "I know that, and yet I can't help it."

"Help it," Mai said, squishing closer. She was so warm and so close that it seemed to seep into him, and he found himself getting drowsy again, as if talking and blinking and being awake drained him of any energy he had regained when he had slept. He went quiet, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply, her scent so comforting that it made him even sleepier.

"Zuko."

"Mm."

"Please don't make me a widow because you're too stupid to tell me things."

He winced a little; her words were calm, but they had the bite of anger that he felt deep in his heart. "I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair.

"Good," she answered, sounding sleepy, herself. He kissed her gently, and she sighed.

Sleep came in waves, first claiming Zuko, then Mai, so that when Katara returned an hour later, she found herself pleasantly surprised that she had been listened to, for once.

Zuko was held in the infirmary for weeks, much to his annoyance. He fought it, argued about it, even got to his feet and tried to sneak out against it, but Katara, with the help of Datsu, kept him where he was.

Mai found this extremely ironic, and gloried in taunting him about it. Once she was sure he wasn't going to die if she wasn't at his side, she had gone back to the Palace proper, claiming that she was also following orders. But Zuko heard the truth from Datsu when Katara wasn't there, and found out that while for the most part, Mai was in bed, at least once a week she managed to get to the throneroom and hold a meeting with his advisers to keep them abreast of the situation to prevent scandal and rumour, as well as discuss any conflicts or troubles going on within the Nations.

When Zuko protested this, Datsu reassured him with one sentence: "I haven't seen her this robust ever since she was stricken ill, as if sitting on the dais actually helps her health instead of hindering it."

Once his ribs and ankle healed and he was able to return to the meetings, Mai returned back to bed once more, although his advisers were quick to regale him with horror stories about how she was scary and deadly and "like a dragon protecting her nest, her soft words scorching like streams of fire."

At times like this, it was easy to distract himself from the fact that he had almost lost his life in the heart of an illegal mine. It was easy to forget that he had been alone, and that no one (he had thought) had known he had vanished and that it would be too late when they did. But at night, when his mind was vulnerable, it all came back to him, in dreams and nightmares, and even when he physically healed, it would take far longer for his mind to heal, too.