Sokka took his job as the comic relief of the group very seriously. He was sure it was him that kept them all sane. After all, they say that laughter is the best medicine, and their mission was a serious one. He could tell when tensions were getting high, and he'd crack a joke. He knew he wasn't particularly strong as a non-bender, but he had his place.

When he saw his sister standing there when they landed on Appa, he froze. All his jokes deserted him, and he was overcome with relief at seeing her.

He then learned that she had been in a dungeon and stabbed. Zuko had rescued his sister, and he didn't even know anything was wrong. How could he fail her so badly?! He was devastated.

While they all believed she was off as the Painted Lady rounding up more supporters, she was being starved in a dungeon. On top of that, she'd been suffering from dehydration and infection from an untreated wound.

It was early the next morning that Sokka walked a bit away from camp. He wanted to think and be alone for a while.

When he heard footsteps behind him, he turned and saw Zuko following him. Without any greeting, Zuko said, "You didn't fail your sister."

Sokka scoffed, "Of course I did. She was chained!"

"They quietly arrested her. They didn't want anyone to know they had her. This group has earned a reputation for not staying locked up. They didn't want you coming after her."

"You did."

"I'm Fire Nation, and I have a way of finding things out. She's fine. We talked about it all, and she's okay."

"She hides her feelings. The ones that aren't happy and pretty, at least."

"Not from me," Zuko stated firmly.

Sokka looked at him in shock. "You expect me to believe my sister shows weakness to anyone? She was stabbed and chained, and she acted like it was nothing. She'd have us all believe she strode out of the dungeon on her own."

"I…" Zuko sighed in frustration. He didn't know what he was allowed to say. They hadn't discussed what they would tell anyone about their new relationship.

Sokka misunderstood his hesitation and took it as confirmation he'd been right, and she wouldn't let anyone in. "Exactly. She wouldn't tell you."

"You're wrong. She would." He then turned to look at Sokka.

Sokka jerked his head to look at Zuko. "Something's happened?"

"Yeah, something happened. You know I love her." Sokka nodded. "Well, I kept a close eye on her."

"I think I'll have Aang talk to her. He should be able to find out how she is." Damn, did that sting, Zuko thought. He wanted to curse.

"Don't you dare!" Katara said from her position behind them both. She then walked up to Sokka. "I'm not dating him! Why would you even want that?" She looked up at him with hurt shining in her eyes.

"Wait, what?" Sokka looked confused. "I thought you two were together."

"To be fair, so did I for a while," Zuko said in his defense.

Katara huffed out. "Whatever! We aren't together."

"Does Aang know that?"

Katara looked up at her brother and frowned. "I've given him no reason to believe we're dating."

"Other than the kiss."

"And after that, I dated Jet. There hasn't been anything since. He hasn't asked me to date him either. I kinda wish he would so I could say no."

Zuko shifted uncomfortably. "Maybe I should go. We have a bunch to do today."

She blushed, looked up at him nervously, and said, "I've got this."

His eyes shot wide, and he looked at her in shock. What happened? Her wound was healing nicely the last time he looked. He glanced at Sokka and then back at Katara. He hoped it was okay to ask in front of her brother. "What happened?"

She couldn't look either of them in the eye. "My… injury is bothering me." She shrugged, still looking at the ground. "I overdid it getting here yesterday. The climb up that rocky hill opened the cut a bit." She knew Zuko would read between the lines.

He grimaced and nodded. "I'll find some more yarrow. I know what it looks like now. You go sit and get some water boiling. It's going to hurt, but it's the best way."

Zuko then turned to go collect the plant. Sokka looked at him in shock and then ran to catch up with him. "You just told my sister what to do, and she didn't kill you! How?"

Zuko gave him a measured look and sighed. "She's hurt. I didn't say anything she wouldn't."

"She said it was a small cut."

"Humph. You realize she lied, right? The fact that she admitted any pain at all means it's bad. She shouldn't be walking today."

"She can stay with Appa when we go off to talk to the village elder." He then shook his head. "If she'll stay put."

"She will," Zuko said with conviction.

"How could you possibly know that?"

When Katara, newly bandaged, readily agreed to stay with Appa while they went to talk to the village elder that day Sokka's mind started reeling with what was happening.

That night after dinner, while Aang monopolized Katara, Sokka sat back and watched the group dynamic. He didn't know what to make of the seeming changes in his sister. She was completely herself today in everything but how she acted about her injury.

He watched as Aang leaned closer to her, and she stood up quickly. She then winced in pain and dropped down on her seat again. Only to have Aang making a fuss over her and trying to help, but get in the way. He watched Zuko scowl and Toph laugh at the situation. Then his sister looked up and locked eyes with him. There was something in them he couldn't read, and then it was gone. He knew he missed something, but he couldn't figure out what it was for the life of him.

Then before he could do anything, Zuko stood, walked over to Katara, and lifted her up, cradled to his body. "We're changing your bandage, and then you're going to bed. Got it?" She then just nodded.

Sokka boiled water while Katara worked her bandage off, and Zuko made more paste from the yarrow to ward off infection. After she cleaned the wound, she applied the paste, and Zuko helped her tie the bandage properly. Then without a word, he moved her to her bedroll and whispered goodnight.

Everyone watched, and she laid down, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

Sokka kept his eyes on Zuko then and noticed that while he talked quietly with everyone, he kept a close eye on Katara. There was worry in his eyes.

He then stood and said, "Zuko, help me get more firewood, or are you too tired?" He challenged him.

Zuko took one last look at Katara and nodded, then stood and walked over to Sokka. He wasn't fooled; he knew that Sokka had questions for him.

"You'll have to ask your sister," Zuko said as soon as they were far enough away from the others.

"I wasn't going to ask you that. If you don't think I can figure out you're in a relationship with my sister, then you insult my intelligence.

He decided that now wasn't the time for teasing, as tempting as it was at the moment. "Then what do you want to talk about?"

"She told you she was fine, and then you asked where it hurt. I don't get it."

"It's a code between us. You know she hates admitting to any weakness."

Sokka looked at him thoughtfully, "You're not the Avatar."

"And your father is going to hate that. Will you?"

He shook his head, "No. I was baiting you when I said we should ask Aang to find out how she was doing. I knew about your feelings for her."

"Then what makes you think we're in a relationship now?"

"You're calmer. You don't give off the vibe of unrequited feelings. Also, she listens to you."

"Still, that doesn't mean -"

"She looks at you differently. Why argue?"

"I'm not the Avatar. Does that really not bother you?" He got down to the heart of the matter.

"No. Not really it's just weird. You're Fire Nation."

Zuko cast his eyes to the ground, "And I'm condemned?"

"No. Just not what I expected."

"She cares about your opinion. If you're against us, it will… she will be influenced by you."

Sokka sighed and started picking up wood for the fire. "You assume I'm against it?"

"Aren't you? Shouldn't you be?"

"Naw. For the first time, my sister allows someone to support her. Why would I stand in the way of that?"

"Because of who I am and who I'm not?"

"In my mind, you're a good match for Katara, and you're not someone who she feels she has to fake who she really is."

"I don't know if she's okay with anyone knowing."

"You're afraid to ask," Sokka stated.

"Yeah, I'm lucky she even told me about her feelings. I'm afraid to ask for more. Also, I don't know how to solve the problem of Aang's feelings. And with all that, we both agreed our main focus is stopping the war."

Sokka turned and looked towards the camp. "We've faced worse."

He then changed the subject, "How bad was it when you found her?"

"Pretty bad. She couldn't walk - they had starved her. Or so I thought it was all the problem at the time. I had to carry her from the dungeon and then to a safe place. Then she told me about the stab wound the next day." He huffed out and added, "I had to force out her admission that something was wrong."

"And now you don't."

Zuko turned to look back at the camp, too, "Now I don't. She knows I don't find her weak even at the times she struggles the most."

"Okay. Well, so the answer is the future Fire Lord."

"What's the question?"

"Who's the right man for my sister who won't get in her way of who she's meant to be."

Zuko turned, and Sokka was staring at him. "She's too good for me."

"If you didn't think that you'd be wrong for her."

"It won't be easy."

"When have any of us taken the easy way?"

The End