Katara was fully prepared to stand against a storm, to brace herself through an arguement, but it is his gentleness which threatens to undo her all together. She can't afford to give into it. If she lets herself fall... who will take care of them?

...but they're not here now. And it wasn't as if hadn't fallen apart before and picked herself back up. And everything about Ginko right now seemed to radiate safety - how long had it been since an adult had made her feel like they were someone she could come to? Hama.

She inhales abruptly as if she was struck, and stiffens instinctively. "I can't stay long."

But because she refuses to let that horrible old woman have any kind of control over her ever again, Katara does sit where she stands, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "It's amazing that Zuko held on this long. I think he's stable, but I've never seen anything like this before."

And that was more than she meant to say, but there it was.