Thank BG-13! :)

Mako's POV

I didn't want to leave her. I wanted to be there when she woke up and explain to her that it had all been a misunderstanding. That Asami hadn't been referring to her when she'd been talking about the drug rehab and the orphanage. That we weren't going to give her up. That I wasnt going to give her up. But I knew she would never trust us again.

After two days Asami and Katara both forced me out of her room and asked me to go home and shower. I reluctantly did as I was told. I called Bei Fong when I got home and explained to her what had happened. She seemed disturbed by this and asked me to take as many days as I thought were necessary before going back to work on the cases she had given me. Id told her I would.

I went into her room to grab her favorite plush and tried not to look inside the bathroom. But I couldn't help myself. I stood outside, looking at the blood stained tub, wall and floor. I knew Id never be able to look at this room the same way.

I pictured the girl filling the tub with warm water. Saw her taking off her clothes till she was in her under shorts and muscle shirt. I saw her picking up the glass pieces from the cup she must have been holding when she'd heard Asami. I pictured her lowering herself into the water, lying there for a while, eyes closed.

My gaze lowered. I couldn't...wouldn't picture her cutting her wrists once again.

I brought a bucket in and began to clean the blood. When it was all clean I put the bucket back in its place and picked up the stuffed toy before heading back to the hospital.

Asami and I sat in silence the entire time. She knew I was mad and I wasn't going to deny that I was. I was always so careful around the girl and Asami was always so insensitive. I had hated that.

It was three days before they withdrew the breathing tube. It was only a few hours after that she started to come to. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at me before looking away. She was so pale, even with all the blood I had given her. It was a wonder how I was standing; I couldn't even begin to imagine how she felt.

"Hey, how are you?" I asked. She didn't answer just continued to look away. "I spoke to Katara and she said you'll be discharged in a couple of days," I added, trying not to look at the bandages around her wrists. I hadn't wanted to see her wrists that way ever again.

I was met by silence once again.

"You should eat something," I encouraged. "So you can get your strength back. Want me to help you?"

She held my gaze before looking away again, her face set like stone. Her eyes were still lifeless, vacant, like when I'd pulled her out of the tub.

"How do you feel?"

The girl's mouth opened and a hoarse sound came out. Katara had told me that would happen because of the breathing tube. She licked her lips and tried again. "Tired."

I let out a sigh of relief. She was talking. "Katara said that was expected-" I began but stopped when I saw her shake her head. "What?"

She winced when she spoke again, her voice barely above a whisper. "Tired of everything."

I lowered my gaze at this. "What can I do?" I asked gently. I wanted to take away her pain. I really did. We had made so much progress…

"I want," she began before stopping. She winced again and brought up a tired hand to her throat as if trying to clear whatever blocked her voice. "I want my old life back."

"I'm sorry," I answered quietly. I really was. I wished I could give her what she wanted but I couldn't.

"I want my mom and dad. I want to be able to see the snow again," the girl said before wiping away the tears that fell from her face. "I want my old life back."

"I'm sorry I can't give you that."

"I wish you hadn't," she began again but her throat caught. I didn't need her to finish.

I shook my head. "Don't say that."

"I wish you hadn't pulled me out of the water…I told you I wanted to die…why won't you just let me die?" she said. "You don't want me."

"No, it's not like that," I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and drew away, clutching the toy close to her again. "It was a misunderstanding. Asami wasn't talking about you; she was talking about one of her patients that's in foster care. I would never give you up."

The girl rolled onto her side, her back towards me. "I'm very tired," she muttered.

I stayed with her until she fell asleep. Something was lost between the girl and me. For the past month we had started to bond, trying to get her to be herself again. A light of hope had entered her eyes like a timid guest. Now the light was gone and the guest with it and I wondered when or if it would come back. I wondered how long it would be before she smiled again. How long for her to trust me. If ever.

I left the room after that, not without watching how Asami wiped away the tears. She knew the trust she had was gone, and I knew she felt guilty. I was still mad at her. It was a misunderstanding, but it had caused this.

As I walked out the room it never crossed my mind that it would be almost a year before I would hear the girl speak again.

Asami's POV

It would be erroneous to say the girl was quiet. Quiet is peace. Tranquility. Quiet is turning down the volume knob of life.

Silence is pushing the off button. Shutting it down. All of it.

She moved around the house almost like a ghost who's afraid to leave a trace of their existence. Mostly she slept though. I had read somewhere that some people dealt with stress and pain that way: by sleeping.

Her silence was hard on Mako. He'd had so many plans for her. Plans that I had unintentionally ruined. The girl didn't play Black OPS with him anymore, or chess with me. She nearly stopped coming out of her room all together except to get something to eat or drink. She stopped going out of the house, only curling herself on the bed with the stuffed toys and, on occasion, a book.

Since her last attempt to take her own life the Firebender had 'child proofed' the entire house. He replaced the glass cups with plastic ones as he did all his dishes and knives. He made sure there wouldn't be anything sharp that she could hurt herself with.

It had been seven months now and she hadn't said a word. Mako and I talked very little as well. He buried himself in his work and I did the same. I would come in and stay for a few minutes before asking him if he wanted me to get something from the store. He hardly went out and when he did he would call Katara to stay with the girl instead of me. I didn't blame him. I was the cause of all of this after all.

Finally I couldn't take it anymore and I stood in front of him as he worked on his laptop. "We need to talk," I said.

"There's nothing to talk about," he answered, not even looking up at me. That did it. I closed the laptop and took it away from him. "What the hell is your problem?!" the Firebender yelled.

"The same as yours!" I shouted back. He straightened at this. "It's been seven months! Seven months and you won't say a word to me!"

"Gee, I wonder why," he said sarcastically.

"I get it, Mako," I snapped. "I screwed up! It's my fault that she doesn't talk anymore! It's my fault for answering a phone call and not watching what I said. It's my fault you're as miserable as you were before we started dating!"

"Don't go there," Mako replied darkly, standing up. I'd touched a raw nerve.

"I already apologized," I continued. "I don't know what else you want me to do." I was truly at a loss. This wasn't my area of expertise.

His expression softened and he gently took his laptop back before pulling me towards him. I returned the embrace, letting a few tears fall at this. At least he had forgiven me.

I looked up and found the girl looking at us from her room. She'd probably heard the screaming and had wanted to see what was wrong.

'I'm sorry,' I mouthed. After the incident she wouldn't come near me, wouldn't even be in the same room me.

She didn't turn away like I'd expected her to. Instead she held my gaze for a long time then went inside her room once again, shutting the door. I hoped she could forgive me one day.