DISC: I DO NOT own any of the chars from LOK. They belong to Brike. I do however own anyone you don't recognize. Enjoy!
A/N: This one shot takes place after the finale for Book 2. Enjoy!
"A Long Night of Healing"
Korra smiled a little as she finished her speech to her people, as well as the few Northern Water tribe citizens who had decided to stay. She was glad all the chaos was over. She was looking forward to returning home and going to bed. She also wanted to check in with her parents and make sure they were okay. She was most anxious to check on her father. She had so much she still wanted to say to him. Yawning, she felt a hand on her right shoulder. Turning around, she found Asami standing there. She gave her friend a smile. Reaching her arms out, Korra gave the older girl a hug.
"Thank you so much," she said so only Asami could hear her.
"For what?" Asami asked, hugging back.
"For getting my Dad to safety. You saved his life."
"No thanks needed," her friend replied. She frowned as she got a good look at the Avatar. "Korra?"
"Yeah?" Korra asked just as a feeling of dizziness swept over her.
"Are you okay? You don't look so good," Asami frowned.
"Yeah. I'm a little tired, but other than that, I feel…actually, I don't feel so…" all of a sudden, Korra felt herself becoming very lightheaded. As everything went black, she heard Asami cry her name before unconsciousness claimed the teenage Avatar.
Acting fast, Asami picked Korra up and ran in the direction of Korra's parents' house. She had to get her friend help. She knew without a doubt Senna would be able to help her. Reaching the house in record time, Asami knocked on the door. When she didn't receive an answer, she started to panic when something occurred to her. Korra's parents were probably still in the healing hut with Katara. Back tracking, Asami reached her destination in a matter of five minutes. Bursting inside, she spotted Korra's parents sitting in the far right corner talking. As she approached them, the airis saw Senna get to her feet.
"Oh my…Korra! What happened?" She held her arms out for her daughter and Asami passed Korra to her.
"We were talking and she just passed out," Asami explained.
'Aunt Senna, can you help her?" Jinora's worried voice met their ears as the twelve-year-old came to stand next to her aunt and frowned down at her older sister.
"I'm gonna try, sweetie, " Senna assured her. She motioned for Jinora to go sit with Katara and the pre-teen obeyed.
"Senna, what is it?" Tonraq was at his wife's side a minute later. HE frowned when he spotted their daughter unconscious in his wife's arms.
"I'm not sure," she replied. She brought Korra over to a cot and laid her down. Smoothing a few strands of hair away from the teenager's face, she leaned over and whispered something in the eighteen-year-old's left ear. "It's okay, little one. I'm gonna help you. Hang in there," with that, she began to examine Korra before starting to do any type of healing.
*****
Korra's eyes opened what felt like hours later. The first thing she felt was pain. The second thing was dizziness. Groaning, she tried to move. Feeling a gentle hand on her right shoulder, the young adult looked to her left, only to lock eyes with her mother.
"Mom?" She asked. Her voice was hoarse from not using it for a few hours. Again, she tried to move, but her mother stopped her.
"Little one, no, you need to stay still," her mother gently advised. "I'm gonna help you. You need to tell me what hurts so I can heal you."
"Dad," Korra whipped her head around in an effort to find him.
"I'm right here, princess," her father assured her.
Korra soon felt his strong, gentle arms lift her into his lap. She didn't fight. She felt too exhausted. Besides, she missed him holding her, even though she wouldn't admit it aloud. Turning to face her mother once again, Korra tried to answer her question.
"Ev…everywhere," she whimpered. "Unall…Unalaq…he…ripped Rava right out…out of me…" her voice trailed off as a painful whimper escaped her lips. "Mom, it hurts!"
Senna felt like her heart was breaking as she listened to her little girl's revelation. She could see the pain in Korra's eyes and she wanted nothing more than to take it away. Reaching out, she stroked Korra's hair before she prepared to heal her injuries.
"Shh, little one, it's okay. I'm gonna heal you. You need to stay with Daddy."
"Okay," Korra whispered.
"Very good little one," Senna kissed Korra's forehead. She shook her head when she saw Korra try to move again. "Honey, you're safe."
"Princess, you're okay," Tonraq assured her, "I have you. You need to let your Mom help you. Senna, she's burning up," he alerted his wife as he felt the heat emanating off of their daughter.
"Okay," Senna put a wet cloth across Korra's forehead before continuing her examination. Once she was done, she prepared to heal the worst of her daughter's injuries first.
Just then, Korra swallowed hard.
Senna stopped what she was doing and handed Tonraq a basin. Once she was sure he had it under control, she continued to heal Korra's broken ribs.
"That's my little one," Senna praised when she felt Korra relax as best she could. As Senna continued to work, she frowned when she realized Korra was shaking. Whether it was from her fever or being scared, Senna wasn't sure. She knew she had to help her stop. Pulling a syringe out of the bag at her side, she approached Korra from the right side. "Korra, you're shaking pretty badly little one. I'm gonna give you something to help you calm down."
"Okay," Korra hissed in pain as she felt the slight pinch.
Senna figured Korra was in pain from her injuries more so than the shot she had just given her.
"I'm sorry," Korra suddenly apologized.
"Korra, you don't have anything to be sorry for," Senna assured her. "Daddy and I are so proud of you."
This caught Korra off guard.
"You shouldn't be," she murmured.
"Why don't you think we should be proud of you?" Her mother asked. She took Korra's left hand in hers and gently squeezed it. "Little one talk to me. Why don't you think we should be proud of you? You saved the world. You saved all of us."
"I…I had to…kill…you ta…taught me…" her voice trailed off as more pain coursed through her body.
"Senna," Tonraq indicated the pained expression on their daughter's face.
Senna nodded.
"I know she's in pain, I can see it," she assured her husband. Then to Korra she said, "Little one, you need to finish your sentence. Why don't you think we should be proud of you? I know you're hurting and feel like you're gonna throw up, but you need to talk to me. Please, don't shut me out. I'm gonna help you, but please, talk to us."
"You'll…be mad," Korra breathed.
"No, we're not going to be mad at you," her mother assured her.
Korra locked eyes with her mother while reaching her hand out.
Senna quickly gave her daughter what she needed.
"It's okay, sweetheart, I'm right here, " she soothed.
"You taught me better than…that, " Korra said before hissing in pain.
"Okay, honey, I get it," her mother assured her. "You do NOT have to feel guilty for what you had to do. It was beyond your control. You had no choice," her mother explained.
"Your Mom's right, princess. You didn't have a choice. Like you told Desna and Esca, Unalaq was too far gone. Nobody's mad at you," her father tried to convince her.
"Doesn't…matter," Korra insisted as she swallowed hard.
"Actually, it does," her mother contradicted her. "I understand where you're coming from and it proves what a big heart you have. But it wasn't your fault."
Korra nodded.
"It hurts to talk," Korra gasped.
"Try to stay quiet," her mother advised. "Unless you're gonna throw up or something else is wrong. Otherwise, shh…"
Korra did her best, but it was hard.
"I just wanna sleep," Korra whispered.
"What I gave you should help you do that, " her mother told her. "We're not gonna leave you, I promise."
"Okay," Korra mumbled as her eyes closed.
The water tribe Chief sighed before exchanging a worried look with his wife.
"Tonraq, Korra's hurting more than just physically," Senna observed.
"How do we help her?" Tonraq looked to his wife for the answer before his eyes landed on their daughter. He hated seeing her like this.
"By just being there for her. We need to remind her every day that we don't blame her for what she had to do. But the one she needs to hear it from the most is you."
"You heard me tell her I don't blame her," Tonraq said. 'And I wasn't lying."
"I know. But you need to show her as well, " Senna advised just as Korra started moving around again. Reaching over, Senna placed a hand on Korra's shoulder.
"Shh, Korra, it's okay. Don't fight it, little one. Don't fight the sedative," she whispered. She smiled when Korra relaxed. "Good girl." Once she was sure Korra was settling down, she finished healing her injuries caused by Unalaq's attack. As she healed a nasty cut on Korra's right side, Senna had a feeling that the night was about to get very long…
****
When Korra next opened her eyes, she felt something very soft underneath of her. Glancing down, she saw it was a leopard cot. As she tried to get comfortable, she swallowed hard. Hearing a familiar female voice address her to her left, she glanced in that direction.
"It's okay, little one. You're not alone."
Korra nodded as her eyes locked with her mother's identical ones.
"How do you feel, honey?" her mother asked.
"Tired. sore," Korra admitted. Taking a deep breath, she suddenly felt her stomach starting to churn. "Ma-Mom, I…I feel like…I'm…throw up." She clapped a hand over her mouth. She soon felt something being slipped underneath of her chin. Uncovering her mouth, she suddenly heaved, bringing up everything she had eaten earlier that morning. Her throat was burning by the time she was done. She sipped slowly from a cup of water her mother pressed to her lips. Once she had drunken all she could, she allowed her mother to help her lie back down.
"Where's Dad?" she glanced around, but didn't see him.
"He went to bed, " her mother replied. "Do you recognize where you are?"
"My bedroom," Korra answered.
"Yes. Very good," her mother smiled warmly at her.
"I love you, Mom," Korra said softly.
"Aw, I love you too, Korra, very much," her mother gave her a hug, running a hand through her hair. "Maybe now that you're not in that much pain, you can listen to what I was trying to tell you earlier. Daddy and I aren't mad at you for what you did. You had no choice."
"I don't understand why. I did something you guys taught me never to do," Korra said.
"I know, baby, but you had no choice. I know if you did, you would have found another way. And that's what makes all the difference. Your Dad and I love you so much," with that, Senna tucked Korra back in. "That's my girl. Just try to get some more rest, little one," she suggested.
"You won't leave me?" Korra asked.
"No," her mother replied.
Korra nodded as her eyes closed once again.
"Sweet dreams, little one." Senna made sure Korra was warm enough before making herself comfortable on a bed roll for the rest of the night. Just as Senna was drifting off, a noise in the hallway grabbed her attention. She sighed with relief when Tonraq entered the room. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. Planting a kiss on her head, he glanced over at Korra.
'How is she?" he asked.
"She's okay. She just fell back to sleep. She threw up because of the sedative and probably everything that happened. We really need to watch her in the next few days to make sure she's gonna be okay. She's really torn up about this."
"Okay," he agreed.
"I'm gonna stay with her tonight," his wife informed him.
"That's fine. Well, I'm gonna get back to bed. I love you," Tonraq bent down and captured Senna's lips in a kiss. Pulling her close, he wrapped his arms around her petite frame, knowing she needed the closeness. They both did. As he felt her starting to shake, he frowned. "Hey, shh, Senna, shh, Korra's gonna be okay. We'll both help her through this."
"I know, " Senna whispered as she choked back more tears. "It's just that I hate seeing her like this."
"You and me both. But as long as we help her, she'll be fine."
Senna nodded as she tried to compose herself.
Tonraq held her until he felt her relax. Planting another kiss on her cheek, he pulled away once he knew she would be all right.
"Are you okay, sweetie?"
"Yeah," she nodded.
"I'm glad." Tonraq went over to the bed Korra was in, bent down and kissed her forehead. "I love you, princess," he whispered. "Sweet dreams."
"We both love you so much little one, " Senna joined her husband at Korra's bedside and ran a hand through her hair. Once Tonraq had gone back to bed, Senna resumed her spot next to Korra's bed. After watching her daughter sleep for a few minutes, the young woman closed her eyes and let sleep find her at last. She had a feeling that the next few weeks were going to be tough for everyone-Korra especially. But Senna knew her daughter. She was strong. She would overcome this hurdle with the help of her family and friends. She wouldn't be facing it alone and that was the important thing.
THE END