Note: So there is no confusion this is where the story starts though it says Chapter 15. Everything that happened before on the show is still the same. This is where I chose the gAang meet Lin.

Book One: Water

Chapter 15
Bato of the Water Tribe

Mei-Lin stirred the stewed sea prunes before replacing the lid on the hot cauldron. It had been awhile since Bato left to go stretch his legs and she wondered what was taking him so long. Just as she got comfy on a padded pillow her patient walked through the door followed by unfamiliar faces. "Ah Mei-Lin look who I found, these are Hakoda's children Sokka and Katara and with them is the Avatar, Aang."

Gracefully the black haired waterbender stood up to greet Bato's guests. She had heard many stories of Katara and Sokka before the Water Tribe Fleet left and was glad to put a face to the names. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Please sit and enjoy some supper." It was nice to be around people her age that she could talk to besides Bato and the nuns. Mei-Lin also couldn't believe that she was in the presence of the Avatar since no one had seen him for 100 years. She couldn't help but stare at the young boy in a quizzical manner. There were so many things that intrigued her about Aang such as his tattoos and the fact that he was just a kid who was to bring peace to their world.

The two teens from the Southern Water Tribe were ecstatic about how at home the hut felt with all sorts of trinkets from their tribe. It was only three from the south talking as they reminisced about stories from back home. Eventually Sokka paid attention to Lin which turned out to be the longest he ever ignored a girl. "Is she from the Water Tribe? I don't remember ever seeing her around." "That's because I am from the Northern Water Tribe" explained Lin. The travelers all stared at her wide eyed. "That's great! We are trying to get Aang to the North Pole so he can master water bending" Katara blurted out while eating some sea prunes. "I know the perfect person that could help. His name is Master Paku and he trains all the waterbenders" she tried to hide her dislike for the man as she said his name.

Sokka became more intrigued by the black haired girl and asked more questions. "So what are you doing here? How did you meet up with my father and everyone?" Lin swallowed the last of her meal before she spoke "Well I was travelling around and I heard that they made the best perfumes here. By the time I arrived the Fire Nation had already left. I stayed to heal who I could, but Bato's injury was more severe."

"Mei-Lin was kind enough to stay behind and be my nurse." Bato interrupted. "You can heal people?" Katara was curious about this new discovery.

"Yes some water benders have the ability to heal and I happen to be one of them."

"That's really cool!" Aang finally spoke as he was sitting in the corner silently since he arrived.

It didn't take long for the conversation to turn back to Hakoda. Lin sat out of the conversation just listening and laughing at their jokes as she watched Aang sneak out of the hut. Part of her wanted to go with him since she too felt like an outsider just observing, but Lin stayed so she wouldn't be rude to her guests.

After a long night of chatting everyone headed up to the beach to look at Bato's boat. Lin was more curious about the Avatar as he seemed to be jitterier than when he first arrived. It seemed like he was hiding something, but she didn't know him well enough to tell. Her mind had wandered with these thoughts that she didn't catch the conversation that was going on, something about ice dodging. Before long they were out on the water with Sokka at the helm.

Apparently ice dodging was a custom in the Southern Water Tribe and was a rite of passage that Sokka missed out on. Instead of dodging ice it was going to be rocks. Aang used his airbending to control the sails while Katara waterbended the waves to keep the boat out of harm's way. The northern waterbender had trouble controlling the water which caused Katara to ask "Do you not know how to waterbend?" "Not really. My expertise is healing and making some bubbles" Lin laughed.

It was a fun and thrilling experience although Lin wished she could have helped Katara waterbend the waves more. "Mei-Lin you bear the mark of the Brave" Bato marked her forehead with a crescent moon. It was the same mark Katara received as they both tried to keep the boat out of harm's way. It was a nice gesture on Bato's part to make Mei-Lin feel welcomed into the Southern Water Tribe.

After Aang received the Mark of the Trusted he belted out a confession. He had withheld the location of Sokka and Katara's father. Lin stood there confused as she witnessed friendships dissolving over the Avatar's betrayal. Both brother and sister thought it was best that they accompanied Bato towards their father's location. Soon it was only Aang and Lin left standing on the beach. "Aang, I'll go with you to the North Pole. You shouldn't have to go alone" the northerner gently placed a hand on his shoulder. He mumbled a "Thanks" and just kept staring at the sand in front of him.

As Lin and Aang were getting ready to leave on the air bison a nun ran towards them warning them that someone was after their friends. Aang whispered "Zuko" and signaled Appa to take off. Could Lin have heard him right? The Prince Zuko was looking for her friends. Her heart began to race as fast as Appa's flying.

Once the Avatar and Mei-Lin reached the temple they jumped off of Appa. Aang immediately took to his glider and started flying in circles. The healer could not believe how much damage the place took in the short while they were gone. A loud crash startled her as a huge beast broke through the gate, it was a shirshu. Lin caught a quick glance at Katara and Sokka on the back of the creature. Aang managed to knock his friends and their captor off the shirshu causing a huge dust cloud to stir up from the floor.

One of the riders, a black haired woman quickly recovered and re-saddled on the brown beast. Suddenly they were knocked down again by Appa. During the distraction Lin helped the nuns carry Sokka and Katara out of the battlefield. "Are you guys ok?
What happened?" asked Lin already kneeling beside them. Katara was the one to answer, "That thing paralyzed us with its tongue." "Yeah now I'm all sticky, ughh, I need a bath" added Sokka.

"I think I can fix that." The black haired Water Tribe girl reached down at her side for her pouch of water. The water was bended onto her hands like gloves and she placed a hand on Katara and Sokka. She could hear the fighting behind her and buildings falling apart. Afraid to look back Lin just concentrated on making her new friends feel better. In a matter of minutes the two of them were able to move their arms around.

The healing process was disrupted when a hand grabbed her arm and dragged her away. To the right side of her face Lin could feel an intense heat coming from Zuko's hand. "Surrender Avatar! I captured the girl who can heal your friends. You wouldn't want her to get burned now would you?" Zuko sneered as Aang would have no other choice. During the battle he had caught a glimpse of her waterbending skills as was surprised to find out that waterbenders could heal. The prince wondered when the Avatar added a new member to his team.

Lin looked over her shoulder at Prince Zuko and could smell the sweet scent of white lotus flowers. He looked more handsome now than as the boy she first met, though she wondered how he got that scar on his face. Without thinking she leaned closer to him and whispered "Mmmm you smell nice, I wouldn't mind being your prisoner." She didn't mean to actually say the words aloud, but Lin couldn't contain herself. Zuko was taken aback as his cheeks turned red.

Was she flirting with him even though he just threatened her life? He didn't have a chance to take a good look at her, but he knew she wasn't a sight for sore eyes. The girl's most distinguished feature was her pale ice blue eyes that seemed to pierce through him. The fire in his hand extinguished. That was when Aang took his chance and attacked Zuko which sent him flying back. The firebender grew angry at himself for showing weakness in front of his enemy.

Part of Lin wanted to yell "Stop", but there was nothing she could do now, but return to her two patients. It wasn't long before they were back on their feet helping Aang fight. Katara came up with a plan by making the shirshu freak out by bombarding his nose with perfumes. In its fit of rage he paralyzed Zuko. Lin wanted to run to him and heal him, but that would make her look suspicious to her new friends, a traitor. He would probably be fine anyway when the paralysis wore off. The four heroes took this chance to board Appa and flee.

Once he was on his back paralyzed Zuko knew the fight was over. He knew he should have been angrier, but he couldn't stop thinking about her. Could someone like that really be interested in him by looks alone and with a scar? The Prince wanted to relish the moment that someone else besides his uncle showed some kindness to him. Speaking of his uncle he saw the old man lying next to him with June on top. "Uncle I didn't see you get hit with the tongue

In the air Lin couldn't help but look back and worry about Zuko. This was not how she had hoped their reunion would be like. Despite the fact that he was a firebender she never thought they would be enemies. She let out a small sigh. "You ok Mei-Lin?" Aang asked. "I'm fine, that was just crazy back there. Oh and call me Lin, all my friends do." "Alright, Lin. You still are offering to come to the North Pole with us?" "Sure Aang." "That was a great distraction back there. You threw Zuko off guard and even made him blush." Lin quickly looked down so that he wouldn't see her blushing. "Uh…oh yeah I can't believe that worked" the black haired girl forced a giggle. The young boy turned his attention to Katara and gave her a necklace, a necklace she recently lost. Lin knew it to be a betrothal necklace from her home land. She wondered if Katara knew that her grandmother had come from the Northern Water Tribe.