"Mother… mother how is she?" Tenzin's worried voice broke through the tense silence of the night.
Katara emerged from the room where she had just finished her healing session. She had a haggard look upon her face, evidence of a long night with little sleep. She turned meekly to her youngest son and forced a small smile. "Her fever is still high Tenzin. I did what I can to help, but I'm afraid the only thing left to do now is wait. Her body must fight the rest of this illness."
A frown overtook the airbender's face. "Can I at least go inside?"
Katara thought for a moment, observing the desperate look on her son's face. She could tell that the anxiety of waiting patiently outside the door hour after hour had taken an emotional toll on Tenzin. For a man of great patience and tranquility, he was on edge, fed up with this waiting game.
"Well," She began cautiously. "I don't see why not."
At her answer, Tenzin's face broke into a large smile. Before he could answer, his mother quickly halted his enthusiasm.
"But Tenzin," Katara continued. "Just remember that she is weak… weaker than you have ever seen her before. I mean it. No injury she has ever sustained in the force comes close to what this fever had done to her body."
"I know that mother. I know you're worried about her. I am too." Tenzin's voice was gentle and soft.
"Go inside now," Katara said as she quietly opened the door to the room. "She may still be awake."
As Tenzin walked through the door, Katara quietly closed it behind him. He made his way across the room to the bed occupying most of the space. Lying in the bed, eyes closed, was Lin. Tenzin swallowed as he took in her appearance. He had not been allowed to visit her for the first few days of her fever; Katara had strictly prohibited anyone to be in close contact with Lin, for fear they would catch this dreaded illness. Only Katara and Kya, who alternated providing healing sessions, had been allowed inside her sick room. For his part, Tenzin had been limited to waiting outside in the hallway, staring desperately at the door.
Tenzin now understood why. A single glance at Lin was enough to determine the severity of her illness. The color was flushed from her skin, leaving it a ghastly pale grey. Her forehead was covered with drops of perspiration and her hair looked limp and dead. Her lips had gone from a plump red to a dry, cracked blue. It hurt Tenzin's heart to look at her. His Lin was strong, athletic and full of life. This Lin was but a mere shadow fighting for her life.
"Lin? Lin, darling, are you awake?" Tenzin's voice was barely a whisper. If she was indeed asleep, he had no desire to wake her.
"Ten-Tenzin?" Lin's voice was pained. "Tenzin, is that you?"
"Yes, it's me. I'm here Lin." Tenzin sat down on the edge of her bed and reached to stroke her matted hair.
"Tenzin." Lin opened her eyes and look up at her boyfriend. "You're here."
"Of course I'm here." Tenzin reassured her. "I've been here, this whole time, right outside your door. My mother only just let me see you in person today."
At these words, Lin forced a small nod. "That's good then."
"Yes, it's very good." Tenzin continued to run his hands along her hair. "That means that you are getting better. You have a long way to go, but I know that my Lin never loses a fight."
"Never."
The two sat there, enjoying the comfortable silence between them. Tenzin focused on Lin's shallow breathing, embracing the fact that she was, against all odds, still alive. Lin closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of Tenzin's hands running through her hair.
After a while, Lin's voice broke the silence. "Tell me a story Tez."
"A story?"
"I could use a good distraction." Lin replied simply.
"Couldn't we all?" Tenzin said with a small chuckle. "I do have a story for you. Once upon a time, there was a shy, quiet boy who spent too much time studying and meditating for his own good. Now he was friends with a girl unlike any he had ever met. She was stubborn, strong willed, independent and incredibly beautiful."
"I like where this is going." Lin smiled.
"Hey," Tenzin snapped playfully. "Don't interrupt the storyteller. As I was saying, this boy and this girl were childhood friends. For as long as either could remember they were joined at the hip. The learned to read together, learned to ride a bike together and both learned how to bend their respective elements together. Now this boy had always known that his friend was a girl and that she was pretty, but he had never really thought about it. I mean, truly thought about it. That all changed when one day, the boy was taking a walk along the beach of his family's island. He happened to come across the girl practicing her metalbending. There she was, his lifelong friend, twirling and commanding these long metal cables, forcing them to do her bidding. He stood there, in the distance, for a long time observing that girl until he came to a conclusion. Do you know what that conclusion was?"
"That she was a total badass?" Lin supplied.
"Well, yes, that too. As he stood there, he noticed how well built she was, slender but strong. Her long hair floated in the wind as her face- her beautiful, beautiful face- was fixed with a look full of focus and determination. The boy realized then and there how incredibly beautiful she was. But he realized something much more important as well. He watched her spin the cables in circles, moving with none of the rigidness of her earthbending. The flexibility in her metalbending mirrored his own in airbending. Without realizing it, they had absorbed each other's styles of bending, using it as an influence to increase the power and skill of their own discipline. It was in watching her bend that he realized how big a role they played in each other's lives. It was then that he realized how much he truly, deeply, loved that girl."
Lin smiled up at Tenzin. "I like this story."
"You want to know the best part?" Tenzin teased.
"Tell me."
"They lived happily ever after."