A/N: Sorry for the delay! I finished up my class on Sunday, so I was busy with my final project. Priorities, am I right? Well, I did get you this revealing new chapter! Many of you made some top notch guesses, but you won't believe how we got there. Get excited - the fun has only just begun ;).

CHAPTER 12

Rolling over, she found a warm spot. Curling into it as the soft comfort graced her skin, a smell lingered, one that was pleasant, soapy, but with a touch of airy musk. Not one of a man, but of a woman that puts in effort to work with her body. She breathed in, filling her lungs with the aroma. It dawned on her then… the spot was empty, and Korra wasn't in the room.

She leapt out of bed and ran into the en-suite that had an almost closed door. She flung it open, hoping to find the woman there, but nothing. Turning on her heels she sprinted down the hall towards the living room. She turned the corner sharply and searched quickly with her eyes, but, again, was disappointed. The vast space looked exactly the way they'd left it the night before. Taking a few steps in, she bowed her head, making her way to the couch and collapsing on the cushions. She grabbed a thrown and hugged it, dipping face first into the fabric and groaning. 'Why would she just leave? She was just here a little while ago! How could I miss her?!'

A semi-light tap rapped on the door in the entryway. Most days, one of the building tenants would leave a newspaper on her doorstep, only knocking if they needed help fixing something. Often times it was the boilers, which hadn't gone bad, it just needed a little more TLC than most. She always thought because the construction company settled for a lesser model than top of the line, but it wasn't for her to say one way or the other. She just helped fix it because there was nothing worse than a cold shower. Well, there hadn't been anything worse, until she woke up in an empty bed. That was definitely worse.

Another tap caused her to lift her head. "I'm sorry Kain," she yelled. "I'm too busy to help today! Just leave the paper on the floor!" The words came out somewhat raspy, but she ignored her own faltered sound and leaned again into the now leftover mascara and makeup smudged pillow.

"Um – I don't know who Kain is, but if you really want a newspaper I can go get you one. I'm sort of out of hands, though." The familiar sound rang from the other side of the door, causing Asami to jump up and rush to open the damned piece of giant wood. What was an excited smile turned to worry as blue eyes looked at her. "Are you crying?!"

"No!" Palms wiped at red and puffy eyes, signifying her lie and obvious inability to hide that she had, in fact, and unknowingly, been crying. "I – yes. I guess I am." She dropped her hands and shoulders slouched as the leaned on the doorframe. "I thought you'd left."

The younger woman returned with soft eyes and a soft smile, blushing slightly. "Well, I did, but only to get breakfast, and I didn't realize the door would lock behind me. You really need to go shopping. At least, for something other than the thousand pounds of tofu and rabbit food assortments you have in your pantry." She took a step closer, leaning up to gently rub noses before pecking the once crimson lips that were now light pink and chapped. "Can I come in now?"

Realizing she was in the way, Asami took a step back. "Oh yes! Sorry. Get in here!" She reached out and grabbed the woman by her bicep, practically causing her to fall as she yanked her inside and shut the door. "What'd you get?"

Korra walked over to the marble counter top and set a bag and tray with a couple cups down. Pulling them out of the holder, she set them on the surface and reached up to open a couple of dark cherry wood cabinets before finding the dishware she was looking for. She looked over her shoulder towards the older woman, who was leaning against the island just gazing at her. She smiled slyly. "You're going to love these, but first…" Her words trailed off as she grabbed a towel hanging from a small hook. Using the faucet, she damped a small spot and wrung it out, ridding it of any access water. She turned and walked towards Asami and signaled for her to sit on a stool. Upon doing so, she lifted her fingers under the pointed chin to get a better look at the woman's face. "Close your eyes." Emerald irises obliged and hid themselves behind dirtied lids. Gently, the towel dabbed at each one a few times and slowly pulled across the skin. Lips touched lips briefly. "There, all fixed." Eyes opened once more. "I don't want to see any more of that smudgy, sad, lonely look again, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

All she could do was nod. She had told the woman that she wanted reassurances, and she was getting them in mass quantities, it seemed. The least she could do was believe them. A smile formed and the beautifully tanned woman apparently took that as an agreement and went back to pulling out their breakfast goodies. No more then a minute later, a plate with a large, warm croissant with ham, cheese, egg, onions and light colored peppers was placed in front of her, along with a cup of steaming hot coffee.

The happy and energetic woman grabbed a stool and scooted as close as she could get to the other woman without them fighting over elbow space. She placed her own plate in front of her and started to dig in. "Mmmm…" she hummed as she chewed. "This is some of the best street breakfast in the city, and it's from a cart just a couple blocks away." Crumbs fell to the marble, and Asami stifled a small laugh.

"You really like your sandwiches, don't you?" she asked with a cocked eyebrow, looking at the girl already almost halfway through here meal.

The woman swallowed quickly and grinned brightly. "Hey, it's not my fault that it's the easiest way to get all the essentials at once. And besides, I'm pretty sure you're not going to turn down anything I bring you, especially seeing as you don't know how to feed yourself."

Asami nudged her with an elbow and chuckled at the quip. "Yeah, yeah… whatever." She turned to her own meal and began to dig in, pleasantly surprised at the sweet, salty, and cheesy warm goodness.

They ate in a happy silence, content to enjoy the few minutes of peace before they both had to move on with their day. Seeing that it was already edging towards midday, they both probably had plenty to do to make up for the loss of a few hours. Once finished, Korra cleaned up quickly and gathered her things. Asami sat there, watching the woman casually move about her apartment. 'At least she's not shy about making herself comfortable. I could get used to this.' Apparently she spaced out because she hadn't notice then the woman standing in front of her again until a tan hand grabbed her own.

"I want you to take this back," Korra spoke softly, almost hesitantly. Her hand flipped the pale one, palm up, and placed a small metal piece inside of it, then wrapped slender fingers around it tightly. Asami looked up into those gorgeous ocean eyes. "I meant what I said – what's mine is yours. Use the gym whenever you want. Heck, you can fix up my old study spot if you want; make yourself a little work station for other projects. I don't care. Just…" She paused and shook her head. "Just, use this. Keep it. And, don't throw it back at me, okay?"

Asami smiled and nodded. She reached up with her free hand to grab the woman by the back of her neck, pulling her into a soft kiss. They closed their eyes and breathed deeply through their noses, the air tingling each other's cheeks and Asami's thumb rubbing lightly against the soft baby hairs at the base of Korra's hairline. As they released themselves from their magnetic pull to one another, the two said their goodbyes and confirmed that they'd see each other at the garage that evening.

Asami's day had gone downhill quickly. The moment she stepped into the office, there was a swarm of messages from firm clients, associates, and various other people with a variety of complaints. She sat at her desk and pawned through each piece of paper, reading the scribble her assistant and the receptionist handed her when she walked in. There was one that caught her attention, though.

From: Kya

In Regards: Lower Clinic

Message: Please come by this evening. Bring Bolin with you. I asked him to meet you outside your office. It's urgent.

There was no number to call back, and with a little research, she came to find out that there wasn't a public listing for the clinic anywhere. She had two options: comply with the request, or ignore it. Really, she had one option, because she knew there was no way she'd ignore any request for assistance. But, she also had no way of getting in touch with Korra to tell her she wouldn't make it to the garage later. She didn't want to leave her new… What was the woman to her? Friend? Girlfriend? Lover? That last one didn't make sense, as they weren't really in that "phase" of the relationship yet. Relationship? Is that what it was? Either way, she didn't want to leave her without knowing, as she knew the girl would get worried if she didn't show up. Given that it was already well into the afternoon, she elected to take the rest of the day off. The rest of the messages would have to wait until tomorrow.

Arriving at the garage, the bay doors were all closed and it didn't look like there was anyone around. She parked in front of her usual spot and walked to the side where the door to an office leading into the bays was. It was unlocked, so that was a good sign. The bays were empty, but she called out anyways. "Korra?" No response. "Korra… are you here?" The continued silence led her to walk out the back door, thinking that the woman was likely in the gym.

As she edged open the door to outside, she noticed a taller man walking towards the second hut. He was wearing dark grey coveralls and a maroon colored shirt with the sleeves bunched up to his elbows. His hair looked black and somewhat spikey, but his back was to her so she couldn't see his face. He reached into his pocket, pulling out what looked like a set of keys, while looking from side to side before opening the door. As he walked in quickly and shut it behind him, Asami, too, looked around, and made her way to the door.

Grabbing the knob, in an effort to follow the man, she turned it, but it stuck. The door was locked. Remembering the key in her pocket, she pulled it out, attempting to open the door as her curiosity got a hold of her. Flipping the lock with a subtle click, she moved to open it once more, but stopped as a voice suddenly surprised her. "Greetings, Ms. Sato…"

Releasing her grip, the woman jumped back, startled by the unexpected approach, and spun around quickly. "Aang," she shouted, gripping her clothing close to her heart, willing its rapid beating to slow down. "Goodness, you scared me. What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same," she started, giving her a look that she couldn't quite interpret. "Can I help you find something?"

"Oh, I – uh –" She looked at the key in her hand and decided to pocket it once more. "I'm here looking for Korra. Something came up, preventing me from meeting her here later. I didn't want her to worry, so I figured I'd swing by real quick to let her know."

Nodding in understanding, the older man brushed his thumb and forefinger against his chin in thought. "I see, I see. Well, you know she's often found in her gym, but she's actually not here at the moment." He eyed over the tall woman once more. "That doesn't, however, explain why you're here, at this hut."

With her nerves getting the better of her for being caught, she decided the truth was probably the best way to go. "Right… I saw someone I didn't recognize go in here, so I thought I'd see what was going on. But, the door was locked."

"And now it's not…" the man trailed off accusingly.

She sighed. "No, it's not. Korra gave me a key, which apparently worked. I was about to check it out when you caught me off guard."

He nodded once more. "Shall we take a look then?"

Surprised, thinking that she'd done something wrong and was about to be shooed away, emerald eyes widened slightly before placing her hand on the handle in agreement. "Yes, let's."

The door swung open slowly and the two were met with darkness, the light from outside only casting a few shadows across the room. Turning to the inside of the doorframe, she found and flipped a switch, causing the blubs overhead to flutter alive in a bright awakening. Scanning the room, there was nothing more to it than a simple workshop. Shelves of tools lay on one side, a large, wooden work bench in the shape of an 'L' covering the other two walls and corner. For the most part it was clean, but knowing Korra's stickler attitude towards people cleaning up their workstations when their done, that wasn't a surprise.

"You said you saw someone come in here, correct?" Aang's question had a hint of certainty in it, like he knew something more.

Asami just shook her head and continued to look around the room for any signs of someone having entered. "I could have sworn that I did, but… now I'm not sure." There was no denying what she saw, but it didn't make sense. 'Where did he go?'

The older man, with his strong demeanor and warm features, set a hand on the woman's shoulder as she turned to look at him. "It's no matter. Why don't you leave a note for Korra in her office? I'll be sure she sees it." Asami agreed and left the hut, making her way to the gym's entrance.

Everything seemed to be normal as she made her way into the small office. Except, as she made her way, a few minor details seemed to make her a little put off. The door had been unlocked, which was certainly unusual, seeing as she'd been given a key, in addition to the office lights having been left on. Korra didn't have much in terms of money, that fact being obvious by her frequent lecture to the patrons about conserving water and energy. Unless the woman had a sensitivity to "going green", there was no other reason to explain her regular insistence to those notions. Thus, something was wrong.

Entering the office, she looked around for a blank sheet of paper and a pen. An opened envelope with a letter sticking out caught her attention, particularly due to the small bit of writing that had been done in crayon being visible. Curiosity got the better of her, coaxing her to picking it up and opening the small sheet. There was a cute drawing of stick figure with a matching blue top and bottom. There were tall buildings on either side, what looked like the sun peaking out in the top corner. The stick figure had short brown hair and blue eyes, the lower half of the face being covered by a white square. The stick person was holding the hand of a smaller stick person with a large smile on the little face. There were a couple of words written at the bottom of the page, barely legible. 'Thnk yu.'

Once again, the brilliant mind of the woman couldn't put the pieces together. She remembered her conversation with Aang some time ago, his comment about receiving letters of appreciation circling her thoughts. This was obviously one of those, but the reasoning for it eluded her. That was something to think on another day though, as she hoped Korra would tell her when she was ready, and she made a promise to wait. Replacing the letter to its original spot, she found a blank sheet and began one of her own.

Korra–

Something came up that I have to take care of. I won't be able to make it back here this evening, so I stopped by to let you know, but Aang said you were out. If you happen to find this, come by tonight and have dinner with me? I shouldn't be home too late, but I'll leave word at the desk to let you in if I'm not there. Please, make yourself at home.

–Asami

Making her way back to her firm's building, she pulled up front, only to find Bolin standing outside waiting for her. The car rolled up to the curb, its window rolling down quickly so the woman could call out to her friend. "Bolin!"

The burly man spun around, his look of confusion obviously indicating that he had expected the woman to come through the doors and not from the street. "Oh hey! There you are! Are you ready to go?"

"Absolutely. Get in."

The drive was mostly made in silence, Asami easily remembering her way to the clinic without issue. Slightly irritated by the lack of information, she finally spoke up. "What exactly is this about?"

Broad shoulders shrugged in response. "Beats me. I got a call from Opal a few hours ago telling me to meet you at your office to come down here. When I asked what for, she just told me that they needed you and I was supposed to keep you company."

Confusion struck again. Something caught her attention though. As they drove through a block in the Slums, several groups of people stopped their conversations to look at them as they drove past. Some even flat out glared, their crossed arms and aggressive intentions resonating in her rear view mirror. Glancing at her passenger, she noticed his demeanor change as well, alertness to his eyes and the way he sat up being evident. "You see it too?" she asked.

"Yeah," he started, responding somewhat distantly as his attention remained on the people around them. "Something is up, but I don't know what."

Finally arriving at the clinic, Bolin instructed her to park close to the entrance, backing into the spot, in case they needed to leave quickly. They walked inside hurriedly, neither wanting to be outside for very long. Upon opening the door, Opal's voice rang loudly to announce their arrival. "Asami! Bolin! You finally made it! We were starting to worry."

Bolin spoke up first. "What for? The drive was really strange. I kept getting a bad feeling and random folks seemed to keep looking at us."

The short woman, much shorter than Asami had remembered, nodded in response, as if she'd expected that to happen. "I'm glad you made it here alright. Kya wants to speak with Asami." She looked up to the taller woman expectantly. "She's in one of the exam rooms. Just go through the doors and it's the first one of your left. Bo and I will keep and eye out in the front."

Not understanding what was happening, the raven-haired woman couldn't ignore the somewhat panicked tone Opal had been using, inclining her to agree without any protest. Making her way through the doors and to the room she'd been directed to, she knocked as she noticed the door was closed. An older woman answered, her hair greyed and small swoops of her hair edging close to her eyes before making their way into large bun in the back. There was a slight hunch in her stature, but her expression was soft and her smile inviting. "Ms. Sato, please, come in and take a seat."

Asami followed the instruction, seeing Kya sitting inside on a small stool by an exam table. Another stool was across from her, one, which she sat down on hesitantly. "It's good to see you, Kya," she greeted with a quick smile of her own. Looking at the other woman, who closed the door behind her, she spoke again. "I don't think we've met?"

A wrinkled hand extended in invitation. "It's nice to finally meet you, Ms. Sato. I've heard many lovely things. My name is Katara."

Jade eyes widened at the name, causing her a brief moment of pause before realizing she was being rude. Quickly, she shook the woman's hand firmly. "You, as well. I heard of you the last time I was here. And, please, call me Asami."

The woman smiled widely in response before letting go and glancing sideways to Kya, returning her gaze to the green eyes that were fixated on her after what seemed like a short, silent conversation between the two. "Do you know why you are here, Asami?"

She shook her head. "I don't, but I assume it has something to do with why people were staring us down on the drive over."

Kya stood up, moving to the side as she signaled for the Katara to take her seat. She paced for a moment. "That's part of it. I'm sure you've noticed by now that there's no one in the waiting area, and obviously there's no patient in this exam room."

Thinking for a moment, the raven-haired woman was inclined to agree, though not having noticed during the rush. "I didn't notice right away, but yes, I can see that. I don't understand how the two are related, though." The last part was spoken more so as a question than a statement.

"Unfortunately, the city office that kept us going shut the clinic down this morning. Apparently, someone was told that we weren't exactly working up to code." Kya's gaze remained on the floor as she spoke, her pacing slowly continuing. "We've done everything we can to keep this place going, providing what care we can for the people who need it. This was the only clinic left in the Slums." Blue eyes met green, a hint of aggression behind that oceanic hue. "Somebody is intentionally trying to keep us from operating."

Asami was shocked by the sudden accusing tone. She stood up defensively. "And you think that person was me? I just found out about this place yesterday."

Katara made an audible sigh and put her hands up, waving the two to opposite corners. "Asami, no one is accusing you. And, kiddo, you know better. Why don't you go take a walk and check on Opal and Bolin?" Kya sighed as well before stepping outside to do as suggested, closing the door behind her. A darker version of the same blue eyes looked back at Asami, and the connection between the two finally clicked.

"You're Kya's mother?" Asami was superbly confused. 'How is it that all of these people are connected?'

"I am. Aang and I have 3 children."

'SERIOUSLY?!' she screamed in her head. "You and AANG!? Wait… You mean Aang, as in Aang from the garage? Korra's mentor?"

Katara nodded. "One of several mentors, yes. Aang and I owned the garage previously. It was passed to Korra when we wanted to retire. Though, people like us never truly retire. We just stop working for a paycheck, doing it instead for the happiness it brings us."

"I thought Korra said she bought it?"

"Not exactly, but that's close enough." The woman looked around, as though searching for her next words. "We didn't call you here to discuss logistics, however. We called you for your help."

Slightly stunned, an eyebrow shot up quizzically. "I'm not exactly sure how it is that I can help you."

"I'm sure you noticed the demeanor of the people in the Slums as you made your way here, am I right?" Asami nodded in confirmation. "We asked Bolin to ride with you for protection. Your confirmation suggests that my fears were correct. Whomever is shutting us down is trying to place the blame on you."

Launching from her stool, sending it flying to the ground, the slender woman raised her voice in frustration. "What?! Why?! I didn't do anything!"

"Calm dow–"

"No! This is ridiculous. After not having been in this area for years, I come down here once and suddenly people want to accuse me of shutting this place down? That's absurd!" Her face flushed in anger as her temper rose at the idea.

"Please, Asami, sit down and let me explain." The girl took a few deep breaths and picked up the stool, settling on it once again. "You were mugged here once before, am I correct?" Wide-eyed at the true fact suddenly thrown at her, Asami nodded in confirmation once more. "You probably never understood why that happened, why a gang would target you."

She shrugged. "Most people know me, and most people know I have money. They wanted it."

The old woman shook her head. "Not exactly. They targeted you because they were targeting your father."

Thrown off by the information once more, her fists clenched at the fabric of the pants she wore. "What? Why would you say that?"

"Because he went after and ruined the best up-and-coming doctor this city had seen in a very long time, essentially stripping the Slums, and many others, of someone who took the utmost care of everyone and had the ability to treat ailments that most others could not. Unfortunately, people died because of it."

Asami was at a complete loss for what she was being told, and what blame had apparently been passed down to her, and how her father could be a part of the deaths of others. "And who would that be?"

Once more, blue eyes met green, a wave of sorrow crossing over the strong gaze before answering with a single word. "Korra."

A/N: Oh. Snap. I'll be awaiting some heavy comment conversation after that dropped bomb.