Korra sat in the stiff chair, staring out the Republic City hospital window with her legs kicked up on the sill and her hands set on the arm rests. She wasn't thinking about much of anything. She hadn't braved to do much thinking on any of her long stints in this chair during visiting hours, because she didn't want to think about Asami just lying there in the bed behind her. Or that the doctors hadn't known how to help because they'd never dealt with spirits before. Or that all they'd been able to do was keep Asami stable and hope she'd wake up on her own. So all Korra had done the last few days since they'd had Asami transferred back to Republic City was sit in this chair and feel broken.

She hadn't been alone on all of her visits; someone was usually with her for a little while. Mako and Bolin had been by her side for the last couple of hours, until Bolin had gotten hungry and they'd left to go get food. They'd offered to bring Korra something, but she couldn't eat. Most the time the idea of swallowing anything made her sick to her stomach, and the only thing that had gotten her to even nibble the last five days when Mako and Bolin brought food, or when she went home because the hospital kicked her out, were the concerned looks on her friends' faces. She hadn't really gotten to catch up on sleep yet either, though she tried to keep the other from knowing it. The last thing she needed was to add on to her guilt by making them worry about her.

Korra took her feet down from the sill, turning in the seat to look at Asami. More than anything, she hated this desolate feeling of helplessness. It wasn't like when she'd been fused with Vaatu. There was nothing she could do to fight this. It was all up to Asami, and that's if Asami was even still capable of healing. Korra just wished there was something she could do. Wished she could find some way to ensure Asami's uncertain recovery, or find a way to help heal her. She wished she could…

At that thought, Korra's head cocked thoughtfully. It was the first real idea she'd had in almost a week. Maybe school and history and reading would pay off, because she vaguely remembered that some waterbenders used to learn the skill of healing. Korra wasn't just a waterbender, she was the Avatar, and surely, if anyone could relearn the skill after hundreds of years of its absence, she could.

Willing to try, Korra stood from her seat and paced to the bathroom of Asami's hospital room. Even though she wanted to figure it out, she was afraid of hurting Asami if she did it wrong, so she'd try it on herself first. She had plenty of injuries to test it with. Something minor to start, like her split bottom lip.

Korra turned on the sink faucet, bending a small amount of water from it and then turning it off, lifting the water to her face. It felt nice and cool against the cut on her lip, but other than that, nothing special was happening. It was just water. She tried to focus on the vibrations of energy she could feel in it as she held it there, tried to will her focus and soul into it, but nothing happened. It didn't feel any different, didn't act any different.

Maybe she needed to move it around. She shifted the water, working it over the wound to see if that would help, and, for a moment, she thought it did. It tingled over the cut and she thought it might actually be working, but it wasn't. It was just the water seeping through what had already healed the last handful of days. The start of a slight sting because she wasn't healing it, she was irritating it. With a sigh, Korra pulled the water away from her mouth, holding it out in front of her while her shoulders slumped with defeat.

"You're doing it wrong," said someone from behind her.

It was someone she could see in the mirror, but who hadn't been there a moment ago, and it scared her so bad that she jumped, dropping the water so it splashed into the sink. She whirled around to meet the woman, prepared to defend herself, but when they made eye contact, Korra felt all the instinctive fear and tension melt away. The young woman was in dated clothing, water tribe garb Korra had only seen glimpses of in history books, and she knew immediately that this woman wasn't a visitor in the hospital. She was a past Avatar. One of Korra's previous lives.

When Korra failed to say anything because she was still trying to slow her racing heart, the woman said, "It's not the water that's the trick."

Korra glanced over her shoulder at the sink, receiving an encouraging nod in the mirror to try again. She fully turned, gathering fresh water from the faucet and raising it again to the injury on her mouth. Once she had, she met the reflection of the blue eyes behind her.

"A lot of your body is already made up of water," the woman told her. "It wants to heal. It is healing."

"Then what's this for?" Korra asked, motioning with the liquid at her face.

"It stimulates what's already there," the woman answered. "Use it to guide the chi flowing through you, to direct your healing energy."

Korra met her own eyes in the mirror, and then her gaze fell to the water surrounding her lip. She took a deep breath, trying to clear her head so she could put everything she had into harnessing that healing chi. She focused hard. Zeroed in on the thrum of energy she could feel coursing through her with every beat of her heart, and on instinct she massaged with the water she was pressing to her lip, using it like a beacon. Using it to call all that restoring power to exactly where she wanted it. And when she did, the water glowed a bright blue. She felt it working, and it was working fast and behind the moisture she couldn't keep her mouth from curling with a triumphant smile. In a matter of moments the small wound had completely disappeared. She'd done it.

"Thank," Korra began to say excitedly, but when she searched for that helpful pair of eyes in the mirror, they were gone. "…You," she finished, turning around to scan the empty bathroom.

She was too excited to feel the loss of that connection. She drew more fresh water from the sink and carried it with her to Asami's bedside. It wasn't completely obvious to her where she should focus the power of what she'd just learned, but Asami's head seemed like a good place to start. Korra split the water into two halves, bending them to each of Asami's temples, where she devoted all her focus to the same vibrant, living energy she could feel in Asami's body. The water gave off a soft glow when she began to work it gently, and it had to be working. Everything felt the same on her end, the light, the chi, the hum of its healing abilities, but there didn't seem to be any immediate effect. Asami didn't wake up, didn't shift or move or open her eyes.

Whatever internal or spiritual injuries Asami had suffered were far worse than a cut on the lip, and Korra knew that, but she was determined for this to work. She gave the water a couple of unsuccessful minutes before she thought maybe the head wasn't the right place, and she moved the small amount of it to one hand while she reached for the neckline of Asami's hospital gown. The heart, maybe that was it, and she shifted the neck of the dress down just enough to expose the topmost part of Asami's chest.

With that thought in mind, Korra resumed her new skill, guiding the water against Asami's chest in desperate hopes that it would work. Once again, she could feel that it was. For a few long, optimistic minutes, she stood there, knowing she was doing everything she could and that this was the best anyone could do. But nothing was happening. There was no progress or stir, and every minute that passed by without improvement dulled the excitement she'd felt. It was the first spark of hope she'd had in five days, and it was fading all too fast.

When Mako and Bolin pushed open the hospital room door, still without any sign of progress, that hope faded entirely. They walked in just in time to see the end of her attempts, and for Bolin to say with forced excitement, "Hey, cool, what's that?"

"It's useless," Korra muttered sadly, bending the water behind her and through the bathroom door to let it fall into the sink. She turned around to lean back against the side of the waist high bed, shoulders slumping with fresh defeat as she faced Mako and Bolin.

"We brought you some food," Bolin offered gently, striding forward with the bag of takeout to set it on the bedside table.

She nodded thankfully, because even if she couldn't stomach it, it was nice that they were trying to take care of her.

Nobody said anything for a long span of seconds after that, until, eventually, Mako prompted, "Korra?" He didn't finish the question, didn't voice what he was really asking, but he was holding another bag of food for him and Bolin. They hadn't eaten yet, and Korra knew what he was asking and was grateful that he was giving her the opportunity to decline.

"I kind of want to be alone right now," she replied.

While Mako nodded his understanding, Bolin trudged over, wrapping his arms around Korra's waist in an attempt at a comforting hug. "Everything will be okay," he said optimistically, squeezing her to him. Korra grunted her pained acknowledgment, and when Bolin realized he was crushing her already broken rib, he hastily let her go. "Sorry," he blurted. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she said, unable to give it much enthusiasm when she patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks, Bolin."

"Try to eat," Mako suggested from his place near the door, and instead of coming over to try and hug her too, he offered a small smile. "Call us if you need anything."

Korra simply nodded, waiting until they'd left and closed the door behind them to bypass the table with the food, resuming her spot in that stiff chair. She dropped down into it with an aching sigh, kicking her feet up on the windowsill and blinking away the sting of tears in her eyes. Using waterbending to try and heal had been her first real idea in five days, and when it had worked for her, she'd been so hopeful. She should've known not to get excited about it.

Asami had been possessed by a spirit far longer than a human should be, and it wasn't just any spirit. It was Vaatu. Tenzin had said if it'd been any longer then Asami wouldn't have survived it. It would've been too much, and if Korra hadn't pulled Vaatu out when she did… but she still should've done it sooner. Maybe she should've risked sleeping more those three days she'd been fighting. Maybe if she had then she would've been more rested, and would've had the energy to fight harder, or to get Vaatu out of Asami sooner so this wouldn't have happened. Maybe if she'd fought harder when she'd been fused with Vaatu. At the time, she didn't think there was anything she could do. Didn't think she'd had the strength or the energy, but there's always more, and she should've tried. Should've given everything because Asami didn't deserve this, and Korra couldn't live with it.

As she sat there staring out the large window at a ruined city, finally unable to keep herself from thinking, a single tear slid down her cheek. But she reached up and roughly palmed it away, because she wouldn't cry. Even if Asami couldn't see it, Korra would be the strong one now. She'd hold it together because Asami had held it together for her.

She sat there for a few minutes more, struggling to push away those tormenting thoughts, when there was a deep breath from behind her, followed by a soft groan. Her heart skipped, and she pulled her feet down to whirl around in her seat, and when she saw Asami struggling to sit, everything in her lit up. She felt her face brighten, her mouth pulled into a wide grin, her eyes widened with hope and joy and relief and her heart soared.

Asami sat up, blinking away the coma as the heaviness in her eyes shifted to concern, confusion, and panic. At first she seemed to realize that she didn't know where she was, but then she immediately set to scanning the room frantically, unable to find what she needed because she was still waking up and dazed. Korra shot out of her seat, and the movement caught Asami's attention, and they locked gazes and the panic on Asami's face disappeared. She looked flooded with a relief so similar to what Korra was feeling as she stretched out her arms, straining forward desperately while her green eyes filled with tears.

Korra crossed the distance between them in a single large step, wrapping her arms around Asami's waist and glad that Asami's arms were around her shoulders instead of her ribs, because she'd never been hugged so hard in her life. She hugged Asami just as close, arms curled as tight around Asami's torso as she could get them while she buried her face in Asami's shoulder. She breathed in deep, such a powerful wave of comfort washing over her that she couldn't stop the flood of moisture that poured from her eyes because Asami was awake. Asami was alive, and warm, and strong enough that she was clinging to Korra.

"You're okay," Asami sobbed, voice full of relief as she nuzzled her tear-soaked face into Korra's neck. "You're okay," she repeated on a broken whimper. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I'm okay," Korra confirmed tearfully, even though she wasn't the one who'd been in a coma for five days.

"I blacked out," Asami said, sniffling as she released Korra from the hug. "Right after I-" She was interrupted by a choked up intake of breath. "I kicked you," she finished, reaching out to graze her fingers across Korra's rib, watching them instead of looking at Korra. "I had no idea if… I couldn't know…"

"I'm fine," Korra told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead and then immediately pulling her into another hug. "You're the one we've all been worried about."

Before Asami got the chance to reply, a few nurses paced into the room. They had to have been alerted to some change in Asami's state, because while they smiled when they saw that she was awake, they didn't appear shocked. They politely ushered Korra aside so they could check Asami's vitals and head and ask her questions about how she was feeling, but Korra just wanted them to go away. All she wanted was to hold Asami for the next hour and let out all the intense emotions that had been building up the past week, because just standing there, watching her talk and move and be awake, it was overwhelming. Korra was so happy and relieved that she didn't know whether laughing or crying or hugging Asami so tight she couldn't breathe would express it better, and there was a conflicting desire in her to do all three.

Asami seemed to feel some similar conflict, because even while the nurses spoke to her, her focus constantly returned to Korra. Every time it did those green eyes filled with moisture, and she looked away for only a few moments before her gaze was immediately pulled back. Once during those dragging few minutes, an actual tear escaped Asami's eye, and Korra nearly begged the nurses to hurry up and leave. Then finally they did, and Korra didn't even wait for them to close the door before she rushed back to Asami's bedside, pulling her into another tight hug.

She wanted so badly to speak the flurry of conflicting feelings she had. To tell Asami over and over again 'I love you' and how happy she was that she was awake because only saying it an endless amount of times could express how greatly Korra felt it. But then saying it still wouldn't be good enough. So she just stood there, hugging Asami again and fighting the joyful tears in her eyes while Asami sniffled into her neck.

It lasted several long minutes, until Korra finally let go and Asami scooted over on the bed to make room for her. She climbed up to sit at Asami's side, stretching an arm across to set her hand on the bed, leaning over and ignoring the ache in her ribs because all she wanted was to be close. For another minute they simply stared at each other, and then Asami's gaze wandered out the window.

"Are we in Republic City?" she asked, staring out at the familiar skyline of buildings.

Korra nodded. "I thought you might like to be closer to home if you… when you woke up."

Asami looked back at her, taking in the lingering admission of uncertainty with something like guilt creeping into her eyes. She scanned Korra's face, studying the fading cuts and bruises and probably noticing how exhausted Korra looked, and then asked like she was afraid to hear the answer, "How long?"

"Five days," Korra answered, cautiously because, in spite of how excited she was that Asami was awake, Asami didn't seem to know how to react to everything.

Asami let out an immediate sigh of relief, and in response to the curious look on Korra's face said, "I feel like I've been sleeping forever."

Korra couldn't help but give a soft smile of agreement. "It did feel like a long time."

Asami's green eyes scanned her again, lingering at her smile while lifting a hand to cup her face. Her thumb caressed Korra's cheek for a few moments before she sniffled like she was about to cry again. "I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?"

"You didn't hurt me at all," Korra said instantly, but Asami's bottom lip quivered with the effort of holding back emotion. "Hey," she prompted gently, moving enough to catch Asami's undivided attention. The immediate fear and pain of what Vaatu could do had been over for Korra for almost a week now, but for Asami it was fresh. Despite the intense desire to do so, Korra resisted the urge to pull her into another hug and simply hold her until she realized everything was okay. "Don't put blame where it doesn't belong."

"I was so hard on you," Asami whimpered, letting her hand fall from Korra's face as another tear escaped the corner of her eye. "You fought it for days and I couldn't even..." She dropped her chin, squeezing her eyes shut as she inhaled deeply. "I'm so sorry, Korra."

"Asami," Korra prompted in as genuine a tone as she could, waiting the few seconds it took for Asami to look at her. "Please don't beat yourself up about it." Asami glanced away guiltily. "It's been almost a week and literally the only thing I can think about right now is how happy I am that you're awake. I was-" Korra stopped and cleared her throat, because the very reminder made her chest hurt. "I was so scared I'd lose you."

Asami met her gaze, and it seemed she was taking Korra's request to heart, because after a few moments she sniffled the tears away and nodded. She cast a slow look around the room before murmuring quietly, "I'm just glad it wasn't you in this bed."

"I'm not," Korra said seriously.

There was a short pause as Asami's eyebrows furrowed with thought, like she'd been so busy feeling guilty for this that she hadn't realized Korra felt the same way. When she did realize, she forced the corner of her mouth to curl with a playful smile. "What was that about not putting blame where it doesn't belong?" Korra shook her head with disagreement, because it was more her fault than anyone's, but before she could say that out loud, Asami added knowingly, "How about we agree to call it a draw?" Korra didn't respond, so Asami added lightheartedly, "besides, we both got out of there unscathed," as though she knew now it was her turn to cheer Korra up. She even looked over Korra's face and teased, "Well, mostly."

"Asami," Korra said uncomfortably. "You didn't…"

Asami's head tilted curiously, and she glanced down at herself to check her arms for injuries, and then lifted the covers to make sure her legs were still there. She was cut and bruised from the fighting, but that's not what Korra was talking about.

"Can you stand?" Korra asked, getting off the bed and holding out her hand for support. While Asami worked her legs over the side of the bed, Korra tried to remember what Tenzin had told her about the mark. "When humans get possessed by a spirit," she explained, "if it doesn't kill them, they take on some physical aspect of it."

Asami reached her feet, standing still for a moment to make sure she could support herself after so long in bed. "I'm not feeling very ghostly," she said with a smile, but when Korra didn't return it, she murmured, "Okay, now you're scaring me." She reached up to feel her hair. "I'm not bald." Then she glanced at Korra worriedly. "I'm not evil, right?"

"It just…" Korra began, leading Asami toward the bathroom, "Depends on how you take it."

Instead of saying anything, Asami let Korra lead the rest of the way. When they got to the bathroom, Korra guided her shoulders, gently turning her around so the open rear of the hospital gown was facing the mirror. Asami turned her head to look back over her shoulder, finally seeing what she'd come away with.

"Oh…" she muttered.

The physical aspect she'd taken from Vaatu was his markings. Bright red and as permanent as a scar, they spanned across the entirety of her back, from low at the base of her neck to just past her hips. Unlike a scar, however, it wasn't dim. There was a residual but unmistakable glow, and for one long minute, Asami simply stood there, staring over her shoulder at it like she wasn't sure how to react.

"Well," she said eventually, but she didn't finish.

"Yeah…" Korra said quietly. There was another length of silence. "If you ask me," Korra offered, "it's not that bad. It's actually kind of badass as far as battle scars go."

Asami let out a huff of disbelieving laughter, looking forward again to meet Korra's gaze as if to judge whether Korra was being honest or just trying to make her feel better. Then she glanced back over her shoulder at it once more, saying with a considering shrug, "I'll have to get used to it, I guess." Korra nodded understandingly as Asami looked at her and drew in a deep, deliberate breath through her nose. "Is that food?"

"Yeah," Korra chuckled, somewhat relieved that Asami was unconcerned enough about the markings to focus on other things. She truly hadn't been sure how Asami would take it, and was prepared for the worst. "Mako and Bolin brought it. You hungry?"

"Starving," Asami agreed, pacing past Korra and hopping up on the bed, folding her legs beneath her. It was a little surprising that she was so active now that all the information and emotions were settling in, but then again, if Korra had been sleeping for that long, she'd probably have a lot of energy built up too. Asami reached over to the bedside table, pulling the bag of takeout into her lap. "Mako and Bolin were here?"

Korra hummed an affirmative as she climbed onto the bed opposite Asami, unable to contain a grin of her own now because less than twenty minutes ago she was worried she might never be happy again. But Asami was happy and healthy and hungry, and now Korra couldn't stop smiling.

"You just missed them, actually," Korra said, eyeing the food as Asami lifted a bite to her mouth, because now that she was in a better mood, all those meals she'd skipped had suddenly caught up to her.

Asami didn't miss it either, and gathered more with the chopsticks and then stretched them to Korra's mouth. "That's okay," she said as Korra took the bite. "I want to just be with you right now anyway."

"Me too," Korra agreed, but what she was completely unprepared for was the blush that crept into her cheeks. And the fact that she was blushing in front of Asami now, after everything they'd been through together, it made her even shier, until she glanced away bashfully and pursed her lips to try and keep her grin under control.

"Wow," Asami giggled, mouth pulling into a fond smirk. "I've missed that look." She held out another bite of food for Korra, adding genuinely, "I missed you being you… only you."

"You mean you didn't like Vaatu me?" Korra asked in feigned surprise.

Asami rolled her eyes, scarfing down another mouthful before saying sarcastically, "Vaatu you was a real sweetheart."

"I could say the same for you," Korra laughed.

Asami huffed amusedly, but then squinted curiously. "What happened to Vaatu, anyway?"

"I put him back in that tree," Korra answered.

"Can the Blue Lotus get him out again?" Asami asked in concern.

"Not from prison," Korra said with a shrug. "Besides, I think Shaozu realized it was a mistake when I kind of tried to kill him."

"Good," Asami agreed. There was still a lot of food left in the box, but she set it back on the table and turned around on the bed, laying her head in Korra's lap while she kicked her feet up on the pillow. "Are you still…" she began to ask, looking up at Korra, "you know, the Avatar?"

"Yeah," Korra chuckled, "I'm still the master of all the elements." But she pursed her mouth to one side in consideration and laughed, "Or, the amateur of all the elements is more like it." Asami laughed at that too while Korra grazed her fingers over Asami's forehead, and then ran them back through her hair, glad just to be able to talk and touch without stress or worry. "I'm going to start training with Tenzin, and we'll teach anyone who wants to learn as we figure things out."

Asami reached for Korra's hand, bringing it down to her lips to press a comforting kiss to her palm. "How are things out there?" she asked, nodding toward the window.

"The people have calmed down," Korra answered. "But the city's a mess. I don't think you have to worry about Future Industries anymore, you're going to be busy for a while."

"Well," Asami shrugged nonchalantly, threading her fingers through Korra's. "I can rebuild the way we wanted to. The way we couldn't because Raiko was being cheap."

Korra laughed, nodding her agreement. "It's not like he has much of a choice now."

"Are you going to help?" Asami asked. "This was your project."

"When I can," Korra said unsurely. "But I know it's in good hands, and I get the feeling I'll be pretty busy for a while too."

"You are the Avatar," Asami agreed, and added teasingly, "I guess that means you won't be making my macchiatos anymore."

"Well, you know," Korra said playfully, "I'm a dedicated barista who is willing to make an exception." And she passed a coy smirk down at Asami. "I'll make you coffee the mornings after you spend the night."

Asami buoyed her eyebrows, saying flirtatiously, "I'll be sure to tip you well."

"I like the sound of that," Korra chuckled. They stayed there smiling at each other for a good minute before Korra glanced back out the hospital window, giving a soft sigh.

"What is it?" Asami asked gently.

"I think I can do it," Korra answered honestly, glancing back down at Asami in her lap. "But being the Avatar's a big job. I'm… kind of nervous." And after everything they'd just dealt with, that sounded so ridiculous that she almost laughed.

"You can do it," Asami said encouragingly, with that same, devoted confidence she always had. "And you know you don't have to do it alone."

Korra smiled gratefully, nodding. "I know."

"You know what else I think?" Asami asked, to which Korra hummed curiously. "I think we should spend every minute we can until work comes looking for us."

Korra chuckled, "We got at least a week for you to take off with the recovery excuse." She glanced around the hospital room she'd spent most of the last few days in, suddenly desperate to be anywhere but here. "Do you want to get out of here?"

"Can we please?" Asami asked eagerly, pushing herself up and out of Korra's lap.

Korra nodded and hopped off the bed, fully prepared to go and get Asami's clothes so they could start checking out of the hospital. It didn't matter that she'd gotten so little sleep in the last week, because she was going to spend every waking minute that she could with Asami. The rest of the world could wait.