After a week of round-the-clock healing sessions from me and care by the palace nurses, Zuko finally woke up. When I tried to hug him, he attacked me. I had been shocked by his strength, and all I could do was stare up at him in shock as he strangled me. It took three servants to pry him off of me, and as I lay on the ground, coughing and gasping for breath, my heart broke for Zuko. He screamed and cried as he struggled against the servants and physicians until he passed out a few minutes later. After that, I wasn't allowed to be alone with him. Dad tried to ban me from sitting with him altogether, but I outright refused. So we compromised: I could visit him as long as I had a guard with me.

The next few times he woke, he was still pretty delirious, but not as combative. He thought we were all hallucinations, and it took a lot of convincing for him to accept that we were really there. That seemed to worsen his frail mental state, though, and the few days after that saw him revert back to his delusional, combative state. Iroh's presence seemed to be the hardest on him, so eventually Iroh stopped visiting the infirmary.

Zuko's body was improving, though. He was still way too skinny, but he didn't look like death walking. His appetite slowly returned, and he was able to keep down solid foods. Three weeks after we rescued him, Zuko was able to walk from his bed to the window. His legs shook with the effort of standing, and when he refused to return to bed, I brought him a chair. He spent the rest of the day sitting at the window, staring out across the gardens.

What concerned me most was that he wasn't talking. Besides the times he woke up screaming from a nightmare, which was almost nightly, he didn't say a word. He barely looked anyone in the eye, either. It broke my heart each time he flinched when someone moved too quickly around him or if there was a loud noise. He just sat at the window, staring out at everything and nothing.

Almost six weeks after Sozin's comet, he bended fire. It was on accident - a reaction to someone dropping a tray of tea - and the flames that flickered from his fingertips scared him so badly that he fainted, but I saw it as a good thing. Iroh had told me that being locked away from the sun was a torture in of itself for firebenders, and after extended periods without access to sunlight, firebenders could lose their ability to harness fire. Who knows how long Zuko had been locked away in the dungeons under the palace. If he was firebending again, it meant his body was continuing to heal.

Then, another week later, Zuko finally spoke.

"Katara."

I spun around, my eyes wide as I gripped the pile of bedsheets I was holding. Zuko was sitting up in bed, looking at me with tears in his eyes. I dropped the bundle in my arms and rushed to Zuko's bedside. He flinched when I hugged him, but then he relaxed in my arms.

"Oh Zuko," I breathed, swallowing back my own tears.

His voice was rough with disuse, and he had to clear his throat before speaking again. "Where am I?"

I sat on the edge of his bed, taking one of his hands in both of mine. His eyes flicked down nervously to our hands, but he didn't pull away. "The palace infirmary," I said. I smiled, "It's over, Zuko. Aang defeated your father. The war is over."

Zuko looked around as if he was seeing his surroundings for the first time. He licked his chapped lips. "My uncle?" he asked, looking back at me.

"He's taken the throne," I said. "I haven't really been paying attention to the politics, but Iroh seems to be holding his own as Fire Lord."

Zuko nodded, although it didn't really look like the words made sense to him. "Do you…" I paused. "Do you want to see him?"

"Yes."

"I'll go get him now," I said, smiling. I gave his hand a squeeze and stood, but I hesitated before leaving. When Zuko didn't say anything else, I hurried out of the infirmary. Once in the hallway, I broke out into a run.

"Where is the Fire Lord?" I asked the first guard I came across.

"He's in his office- Master Katara!" the guard shouted after me as I turned and ran down the connecting hallway. "He's in a meeting!"

The guard ran after me, but he wasn't able to catch me before I burst into Iroh's personal office. He and the two men he was speaking with all turned to glare at me, but Iroh's features relaxed when he saw it was me.

"Zuko…" I panted. Iroh shot to his feet. "Zuko asked for you."

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Iroh said, moving swiftly around his desk. The two men exchanged frustrated looks, but they nonetheless rose from their seats so they could bow to their Fire Lord.

Iroh, the guard who had follow me, and I walked quickly back to the infirmary. By the time we reached the infirmary doors, though, Iroh was practically jogging. He stopped at the door and closed his eyes, and I waited nervously next to Iroh as he took three deep breaths.

When Iroh looked at me, I gave him my best reassuring smile. Iroh returned my smile with one of his own, and then we entered. The guard came in with us, but he waited by the door.

Zuko looked up as we approached, and when his eyes locked with Iroh's, tears immediately started streaming from his good eye. "My boy," Iroh sighed, falling to his knees next to Zuko's bed and pulling him into a hug.

"Uncle," Zuko cried, clutching Iroh's robes like he was afraid if he let go, Iroh would disappear.

Iroh held Zuko just as tightly, and his shoulders shook as he sobbed quietly. The sound of Zuko's sobs made my chest tighten. Feeling like I was imposing on this intimate moment, I left the the infirmary. Aang had been about to enter the infirmary when I opened the door, and after a glance at the scene between Zuko and Iroh, he smiled softly and opened his arms for me. I let the door shut behind me as I collapsed into Aang's arms, sobbing.

"He's okay," Aang murmured, running his fingers through my hair. "Zuko is back."