Author's note: Welcome to my third attempt at a slowburn Zutara fic! (You won't find the other ones, because they are just so bad.) This one shows real promise, but of course, I'm biased. This story takes place just before the end of the 100 year war. The only thing that's different from the end of the series is that Katara doesn't get together with anyone, although she and Aang get together some years later. A lot of the little things that happened in the comics, won't happen here. But the major ones will. And although this is a primarily Zutara fic, I won't portray their relationship as negative or abusive.

Enjoy!

The lightning hit. Katara saw the outline of Zuko's body surrounded by brilliant light. Her heart stopped, and time slowed as his body fell to the ground. The worst thoughts raced through her mind. Tears welled in her eyes. Without thinking she screamed his name and ran towards him. And before she knew it, she was engulfed in blue flames.

Katara bolted upright in the chair she was sitting in. Her pulse raced and sweat beaded across her forehead. She sighed as her eyes registered her surroundings. It was just a dream, she thought.

"Katara?" Zuko said beside her. He was propped up in the large bed, leaning against a mound of pillows that she had spent fifteen minutes arranging. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she responded, blinking the sleep from her eyes.

"Bad dream?" He persisted.

She looked anywhere but him. "Uh, yeah… Sorry, I shouldn't have fallen asleep."

She saw him shrug his shoulder from the corner of her eye. "You were tired," he said matter of factly.

She looked at him, a frown on her face. "I should have been keeping watch or something. Someone could have broken in and-"

"And what?" Zuko asked. "There was no one in the palace a few hours ago." Katara opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off. "You just went up against- and defeated- one the greatest firebenders in the world. You need to rest."

"And you?" Katara asked loudly. "You were shot with lightning! You should be the one sleeping, not me!"

Zuko let out a long breath, looking out the window. The bandages across his chest felt too tight, the pain of his wound still burning. But it wasn't himself that he was worried about. After locking Azula in chains and confining her in cell located inside the palace, Katara has done nothing but take care of him. She lent her shoulder for him to lean on, used her waterbending to heal what she could of his injury, and stood guard by his side as he laid in a bed.

He couldn't sleep, not when they were clueless as to how the others were doing. What if Aang didn't defeat his father? What if Sokka wasn't able to stop the fleet from destroying the Earth Kingdom? What if-

The door opened swiftly and then shut. Zuko and Katara rose to their feet. Though Zuko was much slower and he grunted with the effort. He could see Katara lower into a bending stance when the man who entered fell into a bow on the floor.

"Forgive me, my lord," he trembled. "I only just got word this morning. Your Uncle sent me to help you secure the palace."

Without missing a beat, Katara stepped toward him, water about her hands. "How do we know we can trust you?"

"Please," he said quietly, reaching into his pocket. He held a small circular object in the palm of his hand.

Katara's eyes widened and she looked at Zuko. "It's a white lotus tile!" Then she noticed him leaning heavily on the bed, a hand clutching his chest. She returned the water to her pouch and grabbed him around the waist. "Help me," she asked, looking to the man still kneeling on the floor by the door. In a minute, he was helping her lift Zuko back into the bed.

"You shouldn't have gotten up," Katara told him. Noticing his wince when the sat him down against the pillows.

"It was instinct," he assured her. "I'm fine."

"You're not," she insisted, peeling back his bandages. She examined the crudely healed wound, cursing herself for being so distracted those first crucial minutes of healing. She examined the injury with her waterbending. Brows knitted in concern, she turned to the man next to her. "What are you supposed to do? Iroh sent you?"

The older gentlemen stepped back before answering. "Master Iroh sent a letter by messenger hawk, it arrived just this morning. I was instructed to gather allies and help Prince Zuko secure the palace. I have several friends within the palace guard, I've ordered them to search the premises. So far, you are the only ones I've encountered."

"The palace was practically empty when we got here," Zuko spoke up. "The only people we've seen are Azula and the Fire Sages. But Azula is locked in the old cells in the southern wing and the sages fled shortly after we arrived."

"Wait," Katara interjected, "we don't even know your name!" She could sense Zuko rolling his eyes beside her, but the man responded anyway.

"Khiem," he introduced himself, bowing slightly towards Zuko. "I was a member of the guard until Ozai took the throne. A lot of good friends lost their posts in the palace as well. What are your orders, my lord?"

Zuko shifted on the bed, a pained sound escaping his lips. Before he has a chance to answer, Katara speaks up. "Find all the servants, find out why they left, find me a healer, and keep at least two guards posted outside this door at all times."

Kheim looked to Zuko, waiting for some sort of command that he was to follow the waterbender's orders. A quick wave of the hand, and Khiem strode out the door to see them through.

The two sat in silence bathed in the eerie blue light of Katara's bending on Zuko's stomach. "I don't know why you called for a healer," he said aloud. "Aren't you a healer?"

She spared a quick glance at him then turned back to her work. "Not trained," she mentioned. "I didn't even know I could use waterbending for healing until Aang burned me with his firebending."

"He burned you?" Zuko asked incredulously.

Katara shrugged. "It was an accident. I put my hands in the stream to make them feel better, and they just… healed themselves."

"So, if you can do it without thinking, why do you need to be trained?"

Katara withdrew the water and pulled it back into her pouch. "Benders bend without thinking all the time. Why does anyone train?"

Zuko started to chuckle, but it quickly turned into a cough. "You're right," he rasped between coughs. "So you don't know what you're doing?" He asked with a hint of a smirk.

She narrowed her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. "I have an idea. And most of it is instinctual. But, no, not really. I can't say exactly what's wrong, I just have a feeling." She sat in the chair and tipped her bed back to look at the ceiling. "Although, now I wish I would have spent more time with Yugoda when we were at the Northern Water Tribe."

"I thought you did train at the North Pole," Zuko said, his brows drawn in confusion. "You were pretty much mastered when we fought…"

Katara smiled, "I trained with Pakku to fight. Women aren't taught to fight in the North, they're taught to heal. I only made it through a few lessons with her before I challenged Pakku to a duel in order to try and prove that I could fight."

Zuko snickered uncharacteristically. "I'm sorry to have missed that."

Katara smiled as well, happy for the distraction. But when the moment passed, her smile faded and the dread set in again. She needed to busy herself. She sat up quickly and rose to her feet. "I'm going to see if I can find something to eat."

Confused, Zuko sat up. "Uh, okay… the kitchens are downstairs…"

"I'll be back soon," she replied, but before she could reach the door, it opened. A boy Zuko's age came in with a bag slung over his shoulder and a tray in his hands.

"Sorry, to disturb you, my lord-"

"Lao?" Zuko interrupted.

The young servant's eyes snapped up, widening in surprise. "You remember me?"

"Of course I do," he answered. "What are you doing here?"

Lao set the try down on the table near the bed and unslung his bag. "My grandfather is part of the White Lotus. When he heard from Khiem and the grand masters, he sent me back to the palace."

"What happened here?" Katara asked, taking a few steps towards the door. "Why was the palace empty when we got here?"

Lao reached into his bag and retrieved a worn wooden box, "Azula banished all the servants and guards. She was convinced we would all turn on her… Which isn't entirely untrue." He placed the box he had been holding onto the bed next to Zuko and gestured for him to open it. "I gathered these things the day you left- on the day of Black Sun. I figured you might want them back."

Zuko looked down at the box with interest, but pushed it away instead. "Thank you, Lao."

The servant bowed and retrieved the box, placing it on the nightstand. "Would you like some refreshments, your highness?"

Zuko looked at Katara, who was still inching her way to the door. "Looks like you won't need to make a trip down the kitchens after all."

Katara stopped in her tracks and sighed. "I just… Need some air." She explained, her eyes lowering.

"Why don't you go check on Appa?" Zuko suggested. "It's been awhile and he probably hasn't seen a friendly face since we landed."

She smiled and exited the room without another word. Katara was glad that someone else was there to take care of Zuko. Her head was racing with unpleasant thoughts and she wasn't sure she could make it any longer without bursting into tears. The waterbender walked slowly through the halls, her limbs still aching from exertion.

It didn't take Katara long to find a door leading to the outside. She soon found herself in a large garden. She admired the green grass and the summer breeze rustling the leaves on the willow trees. Overhead, the ugly red tail of Sozin's Comet was replaced with the pinks and oranges of sunset. She felt the power of the moon building inside of her. And looked to the horizon to see it begin to rise. She knew from instinct that it was three-quarters of its way through its cycle.

She made her way down the largest path, her thoughts quieting, but not yet gone. One still rang with insistence in her ears. She worried for her brother first and foremost. Their bond unbreakable, she closed her eyes and prayed to Yue for his safe return. She knew out of all the spirits, Yue would look after him best. Then she added the names of her friends to her silent prayers. Please Yue, she pleaded, bring them back safe!

Appa roared from across the pond, partially concealed by a pagoda. Katara looked up and smiled at him, her steps quickening. The bison met her halfway around the pond and nuzzled into her open arms. She stroked his nose affectionately and sat on the ground in front of him.

"I'm scared, Appa," she whispered into his fur. "What if they don't make it back?"

Appa grumbled deep and licked her palm, assuring her. Katara wiped a lone tear from her cheek and leaned in to hug the bison. She spent the better part of an hour caring for Aang's spirit animal. Brushing his fur, finding him something to eat and somewhere to rest.

When she was sure Appa was comfortable, Katara laid on the grass beside him as he slept. She watched the sky darken into night. She imagined her brother and friends turning up and telling her that Ozai was dead, and this war was finally over. Then her mind twisted as she imagined Ozai returning with her friends in chains, bloody and tattered. She imagined her and Zuko fighting to keep out of the chains. She imagined them failing and she felt the cold of the iron around her wrists. Her heart beat wildly against her chest as her mind remembered the cruelty Hama endured in a prison made especially for waterbenders.

"Master Katara!" A voice broke through her waking nightmare. She bolted upright and saw Khiem running towards her. Appa growled low behind her and she reached back to sooth him before the guard approached. "Master Katara," he addressed once he reached her, "We've spotted an airship headed this way."