“Riko!” Lin panicked as the earthbender fell to the ground with a thud.

A perfectly-aimed water whip whizzed through the girl’s defense. She turned away too late, and it hit her square in the temple. The whip was sharp as a blade and slit across her forehead, just above her eye, and came short of her cheek.

Blood was already leaking from her wound. Korra tensed up in her arms and weakly called out to her daughter. Lin quickly propped the Avatar up on the wall next to them. She had to get to Riko fast, because the thugs were advancing on her.

The ground rumbled as Lin sent a quake at the group of thugs. They yelled out as Lin shot metal wires at them, tying many of them up. Her police force was rounding up the last of the criminals. Lin earthbended a few more guys away and finally made it to the young earthbender.

Blood oozed from her forehead and the blood from her open mouth was starting to drip down her chin. Her skin was already palling. Lin scowled and bit her lip. This was not happening to Riko, not again.

“Lin, bring her here.” Korra called out weakly.

Lin gently picked Riko up and carried her to her mother. Korra attempted to waterbend, but Lin grabbed her wrist. “Korra, don’t try to bend. You’re injured really badly.” She said sternly.

Korra weakly pulled away. “She’s my daughter! I have to do something.” Korra coughed out.

Lin looked around and noticed that most of the bandits had been rounded up. “Stay put, and don’t bend!” She said, before running back to her car that was still parked around the corner.

Korra saw Lin wildly drive around the corner and skidded to a stop in front of them. Korra felt herself begin to slip from consciousness again when she felt a hand on her arm.

Riko managed to open her eyes, though her right eye was flooded with blood. She squinted and gave a tiny smirk. “Hey ma…”

Tears threatened to fall from Korra’s eyes. Though Riko was a strong, capable young adult now, Korra didn’t see it that way. To Korra, she was still her 10-year old baby girl that she and Asami rescued in the Fire Nation. How many times will her life be put in danger?

Korra pulled her wet hair out of her face. “Don’t talk, sweetie.”

Riko nuzzled closer to her mother. She heard metal boots approach from behind and saw Lin. She helped both of them into the back seat, and then took off like a rally car.

“Lin, you drive like a maniac!” Riko called.

“I’m trying to get you two to the hospital!” Lin yelled. The car swerved as she darted through an intersection.

Riko grabbed onto her mother, who had wrapped an arm over the girl’s shoulder. Korra’s condition was getting worse by the minute, while as Riko recovered her consciousness. Korra laid her head on her shoulder and finally passed out. Riko gasped and yelled at Lin to drive faster.

Nurses frantically ran out with a stretcher as they pulled into the ER bay. Lin pulled Korra out of the vehicle and laid her on the bed on wheels. She held the Avatar’s hand as they rolled her away. Riko dove from the car and trailed after them. However, she stumbled and held her head as she kneeled. Her vision was blurred thanks to the blood pouring from her forehead and her balance was so jacked up she couldn’t tell up from down.

New nurses ran out with another stretcher and tried to pull her onto it. Riko pushed them away, though. She got up and ran towards the ER entrance. Darkness was encroaching on her and she knew it, but she was more concerned with her mother’s health. Her knees grew weak and she stumbled again. She gasped for breath. Suddenly her eyes rolled back and she passed out.

There’s a sharp ringing in her ears when Riko came to again. Her vision was still blurry. She must not have been passed out for long because they’re just now rolling her into the sick bay. She tried to wipe away the blood from her eye, but a nurse yanked her hand away and replaced it with a towel. There was like 3 or 4 nurses running about wildly in the small enclosure. Something sharp stabbed her arm and she saw a nurse hooking her up to an IV.

“Where’s my mom?” She asked. Her voice was coarse. The nurses looked at her with confusion. Riko groaned. “Ya know, the Avatar?”

The nurses released an ‘eep!’ sound. Then the lead nurse spoke up. “She’s in serious condition. The doctors are working on her now.”

A growl erupted from Riko’s throat and she abruptly jumped up. The nurses screamed at her to sit down. “No, let me see my mom!”

Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into the bed. It’s a male nurse; in other words, someone that could possibly stop her oncoming rampage. Riko bared her teeth and punched the man in the face. He groaned and let go. She attempted to jump from the bed but the other nurses teamed up to grab her. They pushed her to lay back into the bed. The male recovered and went for the restraints. One of the nurses suggested to sedate her, but the lead nurse declined. “We can’t sedate her when we don’t know the extent of her head injury.”

Riko pulled at the straps, but they held strong. A nurse tried to clean her wound, but she pulled away roughly. “You need to be taking care of Korra instead of me!”

The lead nurse gently touched her arm. “Sweetie, the doctors are taking care of her right now as we speak. Now let us nurses do our job to help you.”

Asami drove as fast as she could, running red lights and nearly hitting pedestrians. She was probably the most skilled driver in the whole city, though, and avoided causing any accidents. She didn’t particularly care, however. The call she received scared her to death.

‘Why hadn’t I been there?!’ She asked herself that. She skidded into the hospital parking lot and dashed inside.

Riko continued to fight even as she grew weaker. Suddenly the curtains were yanked away and Asami appeared. “Momma!”

“Riko! You’re okay!” Asami ran to hug her, making the nurses move out of the way. She saw the restraints binding her daughter and sighed. “Are you acting like a brat for these nurses?”

Riko scowled. “What?! No! They should be taking care of Korra!”

“Sweetie, Korra’s being looked after by the nice doctors here. They’re taking good care of her. You need the let the nurses do their job, too.”

Riko continued to resist the nurses, but nuzzled closer to Asami. “I’m fine, mom.” She said a little more calmly.

Asami rolled her eyes and held her hand out. “Really? So how many fingers am I holding up?” She questioned.

Riko squinted her good eye, but still it was too fuzzy to see. She hung her head.

“Mm-hm. That’s what I thought. Your wound is still bleeding, Riko. They’re going to help you.” Asami said.

Riko groaned in annoyance, but finally allowed one of the nurses to begin cleaning her bleeding wound. She winced and Asami grabbed her hand. “You’re going to be okay, both of you. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

Asami closed the curtain and followed a new nurse to see Korra. She had said all of those things to Riko for her to let the nurses help her, but she hadn’t even seen Korra yet. Riko was her first stop when she heard the news. Korra might be in horrible condition. She just didn’t know. And seeing Riko that worked up in worry over Korra scared Asami a lot.

Lin was sitting in the surgery waiting room when Asami showed up. She plopped down in the seat beside the chief and waited to hear any news. Silence grew in the room. Asami sighed. “I should’ve been there with her.”

Lin rose a brow. “Asami, you have your work with your company. That’s your job. There’s no reason to blame yourself here.” She sighed and clenched her fists. “If anything, I should’ve been able to do more, for both Korra and Riko.” She glanced at the CEO. “How is Riko doing? I’m assuming you passed by the ER bay.”

Asami chuckled slightly. “She’ll be fine if she can just let the nurses do their job.” She bit her lip. “What about Korra? How is she doing?”

Lin stared at the young woman before speaking. “Well, she received some pretty serious burns, but they’re working on treating it as we speak. She’ll recover.”

Asami huffed and stressfully ran her hands through her hair. “Why does this keep happening to them? Why do both of them always have to face danger like this?” Tears started dripping from her eyes.

Lin patted her back awkwardly. “I thought the same thing after I saved Riko. How many times do they have to put their lives on the line? There’s no way to answer that though, because that’s just who they are. They care about helping others and would put their lives in danger to save others. That’s what your daughter did today, Asami. She fought tooth and nail to keep the bandits away from Korra after she was knocked out. It was remarkable.”

Asami shook her head in disbelief. “How?! Riko isn’t back to her normal earthbending-self still.”

“She’s been getting better, but I know what you mean. I think something just clicked when she started fighting side-by-side with Korra.”

“She certainly sounded like her old self when she refused to let the nurses help her.” Asami replied jokingly.

Lin smirked. “She’s starting to act like her old self again. I think she’s recovering well. She does really well with training. How’s her counseling been going?”

Asami sighed again. “It’s going okay. She’s being a little more open with the therapist. The medication helps, too, but she has some rough days still.”

“As to be expected.” Lin said.

Asami smiled slightly. “But I think she’ll be okay.”

“Wow kid, they really did a number on you.”

“I told you not to call me a kid!” Riko crossed her arms and turned away from Karina who sat beside her bed. Karina laughed and pinched Riko’s cheek. “Oww! Stopppppp!”

Riko pouted as Karina smiled at her. The waterbender started leaning in, making Riko blush in nervousness. She put a hand on her un-bandaged cheek and pressed her lips to the other girl’s lips. Riko pressed her hands to the bed to keep herself steady as she closed her eye. Karina slowly pulled away. “So am I forgiven?”

Riko pouted again. “I still don’t get why you can’t just heal me. I don’t wanna stay in this stupid hospital again.”

“Sweetie, I already told you we’re letting the professionals do their jobs.”

“But you are a professional healer!”

Karina rose a brow. “I don’t know where you got that idea. I’m not near as good as Korra or-” She stopped herself from saying the late waterbender’s name in fear of triggering her girlfriend. Karina looked to the bandages that surrounded the girl’s head and protected her eye still. “Besides, I don’t think even waterbending can heal blindness.”

Riko sighed. “Great, look who’s back.”

Karina looked around confusedly. “Ummm…” Then Kohaku and Nami returned with snacks. Karina glared at her girlfriend. “You’re not supposed to use your earthbending.”

Riko smirked and laid back in the sheets. “Sorry, can’t help it. It’s kind of a second nature by now.”

Kohaku blinked with a mouthful of chips stuffed in his mouth. “Did we miss something?”

Karina huffed and rolled her eyes. “What took so long?”

“Ummm…” Kohaku stuffed more chips in his mouth. “We couldn’t figure out what chips to get.”

Nami held up an armful of mini bags of chips. “So we got one of each!”

Riko smiled and took a bag. “Awesome!”

Karina slapped her forehead. “You kids are so frivolous.”

The kids happily ate their chips. It wasn’t like there was anything else they could do in the meantime anyway.

Suddenly Riko perked up. “Mom’s here!”

Her siblings jumped up in excitement to greet their mother. Riko climbed out of the cot with Karina’s help, even though the girl was glaring at her again for using her earthbending. Riko shrugged her shoulders good-naturedly.

Asami walked in Riko’s room followed by her doctor just to get ambushed by her two youngest. She laughed and returned their giddy hugs. She looked up and saw Riko trying to walk over to her with Karina’s help. The girl’s balance was obviously still was messed up. She wavered over and Asami ran to catch her before she fell.

“Riko! What’re you doing out of bed?!” Riko smiled as she hugged her mother tight. She nuzzled into her chest and sighed. Asami gave a content smile and wrapped her arms around the girl. “It’s good to see you too, sweetie. C’mon.” Asami led her back to the bed.

Asami and Karina sat next to her bed and Kohaku and Nami sat on the couch beside the window. There was still plenty of space for another bed in the room.

The doctor walked over and greeted the family. He checked Riko’s vitals and everything before putting on gloves. Riko glared at the man. Doctors weren’t good and this one was putting on gloves, which to Riko equaled bad news.

“Riko, I’m going to have to remove the bandages to see where your recovery is at.” He said. How much recovery could she have made just overnight?! Either way, the man began unwrapping the bandages. The pad covering her eye fell as he pulled the last of it away; all of which were blotched with blood.

Riko gritted her teeth as the man poked around her wound. He mumbled to himself as he inspected it. Blood still seeped through her stitches. He dabbed a gauze on it to catch the blood. He left it there and grabbed a tiny flashlight. He gently touched her eyebrow and pulled to open her eye more. “I need you to look straight ahead, darling.”

Riko complied with a growl as the doctor flashed the light in her eye. It was still red and splotchy and wasn’t dilating correctly. The doctor frowned. He gently poked the center of her eye with his finger. Riko immediately recoiled and growled at the man. “Oh good! You can still feel!”

Her growl lowered as she understood what the man was getting at. “I’m not going blind. I can still see.”

The man held his hand up and Riko already knew what he was going to ask. “How many fing-”

“So what I can’t tell how many fingers you’re holding up?! My sight will come back just like last time!”

Asami’s heart suddenly fell. What if it didn’t come back? Last time was different. Riko couldn’t have another setback like that.

“You’re right.”

Everyone stared at the doctor in surprise.

“I believe your eyesight will return and you’ll be able to see just like normal again.”

Riko smiled wide while Asami began to glare at the man. He better not be just saying that to make them feel better.

The doctor chuckled and held his hand up to her in dismissal. “Let me explain, Mrs. Sato. Riko didn’t have an eye injury. She had a traumatic head injury. And while, yes, head injuries can be extremely dangerous, I don’t believe it’s affected her vision. I got the whole story from the Chief-of-Police. She received a very sharp water-whip to the temple. Had that shot been any lower, I do believe young Riko here would have lost her sight.”

Riko’s smile disappeared and her gut fell. She almost lost her eyesight.

“In other words, she’s lucky. A few more inches over and…”

Silence erupted in the room.

“So she’ll be fine?” Asami asked quietly.

“Yes, I do believe so.” He smiled gently. “Riko should make a full recovery.”

Riko’s eyes shaded and she sat up abruptly. “Riko?” Karina asked. The girl slid from the bed and stumbled towards the door. “Riko!” Asami and Karina caught her as her legs gave out from under her.

“What about Korra? Let me see her.” Riko demanded.

“Riko just because he says you’re going to make a full recovery doesn’t mean you should push yourself still!” Karina exclaimed.

They dragged her back into the bed. She was already beginning to tire out.

“You didn’t even let me finish speaking.” The doctor said jokingly. He grabbed fresh bandages and began rewrapping her wound. “The young lady is right. Just because you think you’ll make a recovery doesn’t mean you should push yourself. You still have a dangerous head injury. I know you’ve had one before, so you know you have to rest a lot to heal.” Riko huffed in mock anger. He tied the last bandage together. “And since you’re still having vision problems, we need to work on treating that as well. When you were injured, much of the blood flooded into your eye, that’s why your vision is weak. We’re going to start treatment to clean it out. With time your vision should return.”

Riko ignored the man for a minute. “…What about Korra?”

The man sighed. “Your mother is doing well. She’s resting now. We managed to heal some of the burns. She’s staying with the burn unit for 24 hours until we’re sure it’s not too serious. But both of you two are staying in the hospital for a few days still.”

Riko scowled. “Where’s she gonna go after those 24 hours?”

Asami smiled. “They’re gonna bring her here to stay in this room with you.”

Riko turned around abruptly. “Really?! Awesome! *cough* I mean not that she’s injured, but…”

Asami chuckled and ruffled her hair like she does, making Riko pout. “I know what you mean, hun.”

Korra smiled as they rolled her bed into Riko’s room early the next morning. The Sun was just starting to peak through the blinds, but Korra couldn’t stand being away from her daughter and demanded that they bring her there sooner. The girl was passed out and snoring loudly. One hand cradled her head and the other was wrapped around the waterbender that occupied the bed with her. She was huddled into Riko’s side and had wrapped her arms around her. It was such a wonderful scene that Korra wished Asami was there with her camera.

The nurse made sure she was comfortable before leaving. Korra looked over and watched her daughter sleep peacefully. Though the side of her face was bandaged, the girl seemed mostly uninjured. Her girlfriend smiled in her sleep and hugged her tighter.

A mouse-like sound from the door disrupted her thoughts and she looked to find the cause of it. She smiled when she saw the jet black hair of her wife. Asami covered her mouth to stop herself from speaking. She hesitantly walked over and saw down with her.

“You’re here early.” She whispered.

Korra smiled in response. The Sun began to get brighter and shone directly on the young couple beside them.

“Ngh…” A bright light awoke Riko. She felt someone hugging her waist and smiled to see Karina there with her still. She felt someone else in the room and looked around. “Mom?!” She nearly fell from the bed in surprise had it not been for Karina waking up to catch her. Riko gulped as her face almost met the floor and thanked her girlfriend.

Asami giggled. “Good morning, girls.”

Riko slid from the bed and