A/N: The session Dr. Yang references below is detailed in The Doctor Is In: Chapter 8, Session 5.

In a word, Zuko was exhausted. Which meant he started waking up in strange places, hard-pressed to remember how he got there. One time, he was in the meeting room where he had decided to "rest his eyes" after the advisory council had adjourned. Another time he was by the turtleduck pond wearing his training clothes, but he couldn't remember if he was coming or going to his lessons. Then, there was that time he woke up in Dr. Yang's office.

"Sleep well, Fire Lord?" Dr. Yang asked. She sat at her desk with a book in one hand and a quill in the other.

"Ummm, I guess so. How'd I get here?" He stretched and yawned. She had a nice office, he noted, with a couch.

"You were having a session with Dr. Jung in here, but he told me to let you rest as long as you needed to," she answered.

"Oh." He remembered now. He had given Dr. Jung his dream journal and his written account of what happened on the day of the Agni Kai. He assumed they would talk about it, there was always talking, but he must have fallen asleep instead.

"Katara seems very tired as well," Dr. Yang said. "I gave her the rest of the day off."

"Oh." Zuko thought he should say something more, apologize perhaps, but his mind went blank.

"You know, Zuko, it's refreshing to see the bond you two share. True, selfless, devotion to one another. I just wish things didn't have to be so hard for you."

"I…uhhh. Thank you? I think?"

"Well, I have confidence that the past won't repeat itself at least. I just wish the future looked a little brighter."

"Heh." Zuko wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"I'm sorry, I'm sure that doesn't make you feel better. There's a reason why I don't try to do Dr. Jung's job."

"Dr. Yang, were you able to help my mother? Last week, when she…"

Dr. Yang sighed. "Zuko, your mother has come to me countless times over the years, but she's always been a bit disillusioned where your father is concerned. She wants a quick fix, like a salve and a bandage to simply cover the wound. But her scars run deep, and I think at this point, she is the only one who can fix them."

Zuko didn't know how to respond to that, either. He felt like nothing was making sense and everything sounded hopeless. It was just… darkness. As if the dawn would never come.

Katara knew she should be sleeping, but the palace gardens were always so peaceful and inviting. Winter in the Fire Nation was so mild, too, by comparison. It was a nice contrast to the summer's relentless heat, and so vastly different from winter in the South Pole. Flowers were actually blooming, for example. As she wandered around in a near daydream state, she almost tripped over someone's foot. She found the gardener sitting propped up against a rock, writing in a journal.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't see you there," she apologized.

"No worries, Lady Katara. I'm the one who stuck my feet out in the pathway." Wrinkles tugged at the corners of his eyes when the man smiled. "The gardens don't get many visitors in the winter."

"Oh? It's hardly cold, though. And there are still flowers blooming." Katara gestured with her hand to the buds around them.

"Perspective," the gardener said simply.

Katara shrugged. "That's a good idea, though. To write out here among nature's beauty. I used to keep a journal. Maybe I should do that again."

"Today I am writing poetry," the gardener offered. "But usually I like to write stories."

Katara sat down beside him and tucked her knees under her chin. "What kind of stories?"

"Oh, any story, really. I look for inspiration all around me. And I find that it usually takes on a life of its own. Then it becomes more about the story and its characters and less about me. I hope that when someone reads it, they forget who I am. I am not important. I want the story to live forever."

Katara thought that sounded really familiar but she couldn't quite place it. "Can I read something you wrote?"

The gardener thumbed through the pages of his journal. "This one is a work-in-progress. Perhaps you have a suggestion of what should happen next…"

Katara read the title out loud, "Dr. Fung and Lady Rusa: Learning to Love Again." Ah-ha! I remember now! "You're the playwright!"

"I have written a play or two, come to think of it," the gardener said in a noncommittal tone.

"No. I mean, you wrote about Kuzo and Takara. We saw the play on Ember Island!" Katara then had a funny feeling. Like this man was more than a gardener. He was like… a spy.

"Oh, yes. That one."

An uncomfortable silence stretched between them. Katara wanted to ask how the gardener knew about all that stuff in the play, but could she just come out and say it without sounding like she was accusing him of something?

"Did you… like the play?" he asked suddenly.

"Oh… um. Yeah, for the most part. It ended very tragically. Why… did you kill off Zu—I mean, Kuzo a-and Luza?"

"Well, it's not meant to be true, of course. I meant it to be symbolic."

"Uhhhh, ok."

"Well, you could interpret it one of two ways. They died, and that was a relief from all their pain and suffering. Admittedly, I often thought that would just be easier… for them…"

Katara then decided she was seriously creeped out by this man.

"Or you could see it as them dying to their old selves and embracing their new selves which is closer to what actually happened, I suppose. Zuko left a heritage of war mongering and became a protector of peace. Azula left a life of control and manipulation and became a blank slate…"

"What about me? Or Ta-takara? Does she represent anything?"

"Of course. She is the peasant."

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm not even really a peasant, you know. Back home, I'm—"

"She represents that hope can be found in the most unexpected of places. And she is not influenced by status or power. She is pure and loving and self-sacrificing. She is the embodiment of peace. She must be a peasant, because once she is put on a pedestal, she becomes a prize to be won. Peace is for all people, not some war trophy for royalty and nobility to claim for themselves."

"I don't know what you're getting at, but I am not anybody's trophy. And Zuko certainly doesn't see me that way…as…his… prize, or whatever," she fumed. At least this part of the play wasn't explicitly drawn out. War trophy indeed.

"Of course not, Lady Katara. Like I said, it's not meant to be true. Just… remember to be true to yourself. No matter what happens."

After the strange encounter with the gardener, Katara went to find Zuko. She knew he usually had various appointments scheduled during the afternoons, but she headed to his office on the off-chance that he wasn't busy. His door was slightly ajar, and she almost walked right in before quickly sidestepping to listen to his conversation with Fire Sage Shyu.

"I'm sorry, Fire Lord Zuko, but I'm afraid I cannot accept the appointment to the council," Shyu was saying.

"What!? But why?" was the frustrated Fire Lord's reply.

Shyu began pacing back and forth across the office. Katara couldn't see him but could hear his footsteps as he spoke. "The traditional role of the Fire Sages was never meant to be political. We have lost our spiritual purpose, and I feel my place is in the temple where I intend to restore the faith of the Fire Nation and receive anyone who comes there seeking knowledge and truth."

Zuko didn't respond for a few minutes. For all the times they had talked about politics, the topic of religion had never come up, so Katara honestly didn't know his thoughts on the matter. Finally he said, "I respect that. That is why I have a Fire Sage sit on the council. I recruited my advisors for the purpose of rebuilding the Fire Nation, and each member contributes in their respective ways to serving our nation. Spirituality should be the focus of the High Sage, yet Satoru has failed—err, disappointed me on this front."

"That… does shed things in a different light, I suppose," Shyu considered. "However, it has also been the traditional role of the Fire Sages to pledge their allegiance and aid to the Avatar. I fear that my exclusive involvement in Fire Nation government dealings would hinder my ability to offer neutral support where the Avatar is concerned."

"But the Avatar is my friend," Zuko protested. "Aang and I worked together to—"

Katara sensed Zuko's temper rising, but she also knew something that might help. She slipped inside the door and coughed to make her presence known.

"Katara? What are you doing here?" Zuko turned toward her, his face already reddening from anger.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear. And I have some information that might help Fire Sage Shyu make his decision."

Both Fire Lord and Fire Sage looked at her with raised eyebrows. She cleared her throat.

"On Crescent Island, the night of the Solstice, you recall what Avatar Roku said to me, right Fire Sage Shyu?" Katara waited for the man to nod in acknowledgement.

"Well, Zuko may not know of the prophesy you were given 22 years ago. Would you care to enlighten him?"

"Knowledge of such things has only driven Fire Lords to madness, Lady Katara." Shyu closed his eyes and bowed his head at this admission.

Zuko stood up from behind his desk and gaped at them. He certainly didn't want to go mad, that had been his greatest fear all along, but they couldn't not tell him.

"Well, I already told him that Roku said we'd have children and grandchildren," Katara started. "And it affects his future as much as mine, so…"

Shyu nodded again and said with solemnity, "Avatar Roku prophesied that one of his descendants would also be an avatar. Then I believe he told you that it would be your granddaughter."

Zuko sat back down in his chair with a hard thud. He had absolutely no idea what to think about this development. Katara had been right. How do you properly plan when a prophesy is in place?

Katara seemed to have a plan, though, at least for the short term. "So, Fire Sage Shyu, don't you see? In serving Zuko, you are essentially serving the future of the Avatar, are you not? As to the matters of spirituality, there was something else Roku said to me. He said that while it was Aang's job to restore balance in the world, it would be the next Avatar's job to restore balance between our world and the spirit world. So, I think your role is clear. By accepting the position as High Sage, you will be upholding the tradition of the Fire Sages in not only serving the spiritual needs of the Fire Nation, but the entire world."

Zuko was rendered speechless. He had heard what Katara was saying without really listening. He was still stuck on my granddaughter will be the next Avatar? He heard Shyu saying something in response, but everything was muddled. Then they both looked at him expectantly, and he simply nodded. Granddaughter… Avatar…

After Shyu left, Katara waved a hand in front of his face. "Yoo hoo, Zuko? You there?"

"Um, yeah?"

"So, when do you want to go to the Dragonbone Catacombs?"

"What!?"

She let out a noise of frustration even though she knew he hadn't been listening. "Shyu has agreed to become the High Sage but only if you conduct the traditional ceremony. He says the rites are documented somewhere in the catacombs."

Zuko hated the Dragonbone Catacombs. They were dark and dusty and creepy and… cold. The upside was that Katara had offered to go with him and that the Fire Sages kept all of their documentation and artifacts well-cared-for in an easily accessible vault. He wondered why Shyu didn't just come down here and find the information himself. It even happened to be in the first place he looked. Shyu worked at the temple just above the catacombs, so he could have easily retrieved the materials himself. Oh well, we got what we need, so let's just get out of here. Katara?

She had shifted some crates around toward the back of the vault and was thumbing through a stack of old, dusty parchment.

"I already found it. Let's go!" He shivered despite being a firebender. What is she looking for?

"Found it! He said it would be here!" She pulled a tattered sheet from the pile.

What? Who? Zuko shuffled over to her side and peered at the writing. It was a marriage certificate. Between Fire Lord Sozin and Makenna of the Southern Water Tribe.

"Whoa." Zuko let out the breath he had been holding.

"Shyu said I might just happen to find this here. It wouldn't look good if he found it. Not before taking Satoru's position when he's so obviously against us getting married. Shyu made me promise that's not the only reason you wanted him on the council," Katara explained.

Man, how long was I out of it? "Well, it's not. But what did you say?" Zuko ran his fingers over the smudged ink. Not only was it true, but it was official. He wondered who else knew about it.

"I told him I wasn't going to have your kids unless we're married first." She smirked at him and then leaned in for a kiss.

Zuko stopped her. "Not here. This place gives me the creeps."

"No fantasies about doing it in a crypt, huh?"