A/N: Just a short little chapter! Only a couple more to go!

Sora felt dead on her feet as she walked up the stairs of the apartment building. She had been working non-stop for about two weeks as a particularly nasty and contagious virus ran rampant through Republic City. The hospital was regularly overcapacity and Sora didn't have enough healers to go around. They weren't able to "heal" the virus but they could alleviate any pain their patients were feeling. Most of their time was spent keeping them hydrated and fed the best they could. With rest, plenty of fluids, and pain management most people were recovering within a week.

Without proper care, however, recovery took longer and the virus became more dangerous. Which is why Sora was currently making the rare house call. She had received a phone call from Councilman Tenzin who apparently had been contacted by Assistant Police Chief Saikhan who informed him that his boss was sick and not taking care of herself. This wasn't a surprise to anyone involved and Sora had half a mind to let the Police Chief have her stubborn way for a couple days and leave her alone.

She couldn't do that, though. It went against her code as a healer and her personal feelings where the earthbender was involved. She had developed a soft spot for Lin over the years and was used to dealing with her less than cooperative temperament.

So Sora was now dragging herself up three flights of stairs, a bowl of chicken broth and mineral water sloshing around in her bag. She paused for a moment as she finally made it to her destination, catching her breath before knocking loudly on the door.

No answer.

She knocked again.

Still no answer.

"Chief Beifong? It's Sora, from the hospital. Are you in there?"

When there was still no answer Sora tried the door and was relieved when she found it unlocked. She pushed the door open slowly. The apartment was quiet enough that Sora wondered if Lin was even home. She walked through the empty living room area and down a small hall she assumed led to a bedroom.

The door was slightly open and Sora knocked lightly before peaking her head in. She couldn't help but smile slightly as she took in the sight of the Chief of Police completely burrowed under a mountain of blankets, just the tufts of her graying hair sticking out at the head of the bed.

"Go away."

There wasn't much gumption behind the words and she was too weak to properly yell at her to leave. Sora rolled her eyes.

"Yes well, I'd rather be somewhere else than making a house call to the Chief of Police because she refuses to take care of herself and yet, here I am."

The mound of blankets shifted and glassy green eyes appeared, giving one of their usual glares. Sora held her gaze, satisified that her spirit hadn't been affected. Lin's face scrunched and she covered her face with the crook of her arm.

"Fine… can you just do something to help this headache? And I can't seem to get warm."

"I also heard you passed out at the station."

She immediately yanked her arm away and tried to sit up. She failed, groaning as she slumped against the pillows. Headache, fatigue, and fever. The signature symptoms of this current virus.

"I'm going to kill Saikhan. He had no right to-"

"Yes yes, you can kill Assistant Chief Saikhan for caring about you later. For now, let me help."

She glared again but jerked her head as if to say "let's get this over with".

3 weeks later the worst of the pandemic seemed to be over. The hospital was still treating patients but the numbers had become manageable. Sora walked into her office one morning to find a beautiful bouquet of light pink peonies sitting on her desk. She looked around to see who had brought them and then noticed a small card.

The envelope was labelled with the name of a local florist and her own named written in a fancy, flowing script. Inside was a simple note but it made Sora smile none the less.

"Thank you. – LB"

For all her stubbornness and steely attitude Lin Beifong was actually a big softy at heart. Sora often met the police chief at her most vulnerable times and the two of them had developed a mutual respect for each other. She sniffed the sweet flowers carefully and smiled to herself again. Even though she knew Lin was thankful for her help over the years, it was nice to have some physical proof of that appreciation from time to time.