A/N: Happy birthday Kyou-chan! I hope you like this little gift :D

"Zaheer! No!"

"You can't fight me and the poison."

"No, they got it out."

"You'll never get it out! The Red Lotus has won. An era of true freedom is about to begin."

I scream at the top of my lungs. It burns. Everything seems dark and I try to stand up but my legs are not responding. I notice that someone is holding my shoulders and I want to bend but pain courses through my body as soon as I try to spark a flame.

"Korra, everything's ok, it was just a dream. You are with me, you are safe."

I stop trying to fight when I hear that voice. I look at the person holding me firmly albeit gently and I see green eyes staring down at me. Slowly I look at my surroundings, realizing I'm in my room on Air Temple Island. I relax a bit but the heavy pounding in my chest will not stop. "Did I-" I'm unable to even finish the sentence.

Her soft hands release me from their grip and she reaches for a pitcher on the bedside table, pouring water in a glass for me. She puts the pitcher back and then helps me by raising my head with one hand and putting the glass against my lips with the other one… I am so weak. I drink just enough water to be able to speak because even drinking it is tiring for me.

"Did I wake you up?" My voice sounds coarse, but my throat doesn't hurt much now.

"Actually I was awake when you started thrashing on your bed." She puts the glass back on the bedside table, her eyes never leaving me. "Do you want to talk about your dream?"

I just stare at nothing, not knowing if I want to, if I need to talk. Everything seems pointless. Zaheer broke me and talking about it won't change anything, won't put me back together. Just thinking of him makes me feel powerless… and scared.

"You should try to get back to sleep. You need to rest. I am right here if you need anything." She stands up from my bed and goes back to hers, just beside mine. She's been sleeping in my room, even when I told her that it was unnecessary, but she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. I hate being a burden to her, to everyone.

I am always tired, and not only physically. Now everyone sees me broken and I feel that I'm no longer the Avatar. I'm just a burden, an annoyance. Everyone pities me when they see me… except Asami. She's looks at me concerned, worried, but there's never pity in her eyes. I've been thinking about that a lot, but when one is stuck in a wheelchair unable to do nothing, thinking is the only choice left.

I became really close to Asami in the past few weeks while searching for airbenders, and I think it is the same for her. I feel guilty for that. Now she looks after broken me and she can't go on with her life… Maybe if I wasn't around here she'd be able to move on…

I close my eyes, trying to sleep but knowing that even if I manage to do so, I will probably not get enough rest. But as soon as I start to drift off, I see the caves I was trapped in. My body goes tense and I open my eyes. I know that I'm in my room, but nonetheless I look at the shadows searching for something… someone that is not here. It takes me some time to relax a bit, minutes that feel like hours, but in the end I calm down enough to try to sleep again. I close my eyes and focus on the sounds of the night, especially the waves that graze the island. I fall in a light slumber and I can still hear the waves, but suddenly everything changes. I'm facing Zaheer again and he is bending the air from my lungs out. I gasp loudly and I raise an arm to defend myself from the maniac that isn't here. I breathe heavily and my heart is racing. I don't think I'll get much sleep tonight.

I hear footsteps and I'm too scared to realize they are from Asami, but the sound of her voice prevents me from panicking even more.

"It's just me, Korra." Asami sits on my bed and caresses my cheek gently. "This has been a bad night for you. Would you like me to tell you a bedtime story? I know we are too old for that but…" I shake my head before she finishes talking.

Asami remains silent for a while, a hesitant look on her face, but then she stares at my bed as if it is the most interesting thing in the world, frowning lightly as she always does when she concentrates fully on an idea. She stops frowning and then looks at me. "I could sleep with you." I raise my eyebrows a little, surprised by her suggestion. "When I was a child and I had a nightmare, my mom always let me sleep with her. It helped me to take my mind off bad things. Would you like to try?"

I would like to argue with her, that she doesn't need to do this, that I'll be fine. But I know that I'd be lying. Besides, I hardly see any… inconvenience in sleeping with her, so I just nod. I manage to scoot over to one side of the bed with Asami's help and she lies down next to me. Unexpectedly, she embraces me with one arm, pushing me close so I'm partially on top of her, with my head resting on her chest. With her free hand she makes soothing movements on my back. I'm a little bewildered by the whole gesture, but I welcome it all the same.

I try to pay attention just to Asami. Her breathing, her beating heart, her hands caressing my back… the slight smell of engine oil mixed with hints of a flowery scent coming from her. She helps me relax a bit, but I'm still too worked up and I don't dare close my eyes. I am debating over closing them or just lie there and wait for the fatigue to take over me. However, in the middle of my struggle, I feel Asami humming a song. Then, I hear her sing in a soft voice.

"Sleep my baby on my bosom
Warm and cozy will it prove
Round your mother's arms are folding
In her heart a mother's love

There shall no one come to harm you
Naught shall ever break your rest
Sleep my darling babe in quiet
Sleep on mother's gentle breast."

I get out of my stupor and finally raise my head to look at Asami, she has her eyes closed, but stops singing to look at me. Her eyes are watery and she only shows me a warm smile before closing her eyes again, picking up the song from where she left. I am too amused to say anything and I just lower down my head on her chest again, hearing her singing for me.

"Sleep serenely, baby, slumber
Lovely baby, gently sleep;
Tell me wherefore are you smiling
Smiling sweetly in your sleep?

Do the spirits smile in heaven
When your happy smile they see?
Do you on them smile while slumb'ring
On my bosom peacefully."

For the first time in days I stop thinking about my misery. It's as if Asami is the only thing that exists right now: her warmth, her heartbeat, her voice. There's no more fear, no more Zaheer, not even pain. Asami's song is so soothing that I actually close my eyes to focus on it, forgetting all my problems, even if it's just for a moment. There's something in her voice, in each word she sings… I can't quite place it, but it's something that helps me to finally relax.

"Do not fear the sound of a breeze
Brushing leaves against the door.
Do not dread the murmuring seas,
Lonely waves washing the shore.

Sleep child mine, there's nothing here,
While in slumber at my breast,
Spirits smiling, have no fear,
Holy spirits guard your rest."

I start to drift off, for real this time, and I keep listening to Asami's voice, but I don't know if she is still singing or if her song is stuck in my head. Either way, I'm fine with it. Still, I keep thinking that there is something tinging her voice, but before I can figure out what it is, I finally fall asleep.

For the first time in what feels like an eternity, I get a resting dreamless night.