Korra was not worried when Lin was fifteen minutes late. She wasn't worried when Lin was twenty minutes late, or half an hour late.

At the forty-five minute mark, she began to worry.

At one hour, she was pacing the room.

Two hours after Lin said she would be home, Korra's nails had been bitten to the quick, her hair pulled out of its usual ponytails.

About an eternity later, Lin stumbled through the door.

"Lin!" Korra cried.

Lin collapsed in Korra's arms. Her armor was dented, torn apart, and in some places even ripped. She bled heavily.

"Oh, spirits, Lin!" Korra cried, holding up the woman who couldn't stand.

"Ko...rra," Lin managed.

"What happened?" Korra demanded.

"Red Monsoon," Lin said.

"Stay awake," Korra said, the tears coming to her face. "Stay with me, baby."

Why was she so frantic? Korra thought to herself. Katara wouldn't have even flinched.

Korra peeled off Lin's armor as quickly as she dared, and the sight she saw made her heart beat frenetically in terror.

Blood stuck Lin's tank top to her body. Korra panicked for a moment, before hearing Katara's calming voice in her head.

The bathroom.

Of course! Korra smacked her forehead with her hand.

"Lin?" she asked gently, brushing away some of the stray hair from her face. "Can you stand?"

Lin didn't respond; probably because she was unconscious.

Carry her, Katara's voice said. Gently!

Korra wrapped one arm around Lin's shoulders, using her other hand to cradle Lin's head against her shoulder. After Korra was satisfied that Lin's head would not roll off, her other arm went under Lin's knees. Korra made sure she stood up slowly, grunting with the effort it took.

She carried Lin to the bathroom, wincing every time she accidentally knocked her partner against a wall.

Korra set Lin down gently on the tiled floor before kneeling over her. She hesitated for a moment to decide what to do; then, she ripped the tank top up the middle as slowly as she could.

Lin whimpered when Korra had to pull away the tank top; it had been cemented to her body by dried blood.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, babe," Korra whispered, kissing Lin's collarbone before turning on the shower. Korra made sure the water was cool, but not cold.

She healed Lin's upper body to the best of her abilities.

You worked with Katara, she said to herself. So why can't you do this? Come on. You must have some worth.

Korra did her best to ignore herself; instead pulling off Lin's trousers and healing the worst of the lacerations and bruises.

Korra held her breath for a moment that spanned an eternity. Eventually, Lin groaned.

"Korra?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"I'm here, I'm here," Korra said, taking Lin's hand between hers and kissing it.

"Water," she managed.

"Right; of course," Korra said.

Korra bent more water from the still-running shower and propped Lin's head up in her lap.

Lin groaned as the first of the water touched her lips. Korra kept the hand that was not busy bending on Lin's stomach.

"Thank you," Lin said.

"How come you didn't go to a hospital?" Korra demanded.

Lin shook her head, "You were closer. I need to-"

"You need to lie down and rest," Korra said firmly.

"But-"

"No buts. Seriously, Lin, you scared me. I thought you were going to die."

"I knew I wasn't going to die," Lin informed her with a slight smile.

"How?" Korra demanded.

"Because I was with you," she said simply.

"Come on," Korra said, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Let's get you to bed."

Lin tried to sit up, but Korra placed a hand on her chest.

"Not on your life," Korra said.

She scooped Lin into her arms again, cradling her closely instead of holding her as gingerly as possible. While balancing Lin's weight between her right arm and her torso, Korra shut the shower off. She pulled the covers down with one arm, and held Lin with the other. She set her partner down on the bed before sliding in beside her.

"Korra, I need to fill out a report," Lin said, her eyes becoming more focused. "It was a totally unprompted attack, while I was out of uniform. The other officers need to know-"

"They can wait until morning," Korra said. "Please don't ever scare me like that again."

Lin didn't answer. That was a promise she could not make. She would do her best, of course; but there was always something, as the scars on her face could attest to.

When she felt Korra sigh behind her, Lin knew her partner had deduced the reason for her silence. When she felt Korra's arm tighten around her, she knew they would be alright.

AN: I'm going to continue these prompts until I've finished. I like to think of it as being fashionably late. Also, please check out my fic, City Lights; wherein Asami is a triad boss. A major focus is the ongoing triad war. There will be Linorra, Linsami, and Korrasami. I'd really like some feedback on it.