Chapter Text
Patient is unconscious. Family member is disruptive.
Mushu Fa is causing a disturbance. Katara cannot really blame him.
“I’m gonna kill ‘em! I’m gonna kill ‘em all! I’m gonna kill ‘em and dance across their goddamn graves!”
“Mr. Fa, if you don’t calm down I am going to have to ask you to leave.”
“Go ahead! I got eight fucking bodies to bury in the salt mines! Or, hell, just leave them in the forest! Feed the birds! It’d be the most useful thing these fuckers ever did!”
For a moment Katara worries that she’ll have to call security, but then Mulan Fa groans in her sleep, and she watches his demeanor change.
Female… East Asian… 16… O-…
“Mulan?!” He rushes to her. “Mulan, baby?! Can you hear me?!”
“Mr. Fa,” Katara begins. “She’s unconscious…”
“But she just said something! I heard her! You heard her, too!”
“I’m afraid that was not her attempting to speak, Mr. Fa. It was just a groan.”
“Of pain! Oh, my poor baby girl…” he squeezes her hand tightly. “Go ahead and do what you have to, Doc. Whatever you have to do to get whoever did this behind bars!”
Katara reaches for a swab and lifts it to the girl’s mouth. Rust-red and off-white. Mushu goes pale.
“Is… is that…?!”
“It appears to be… discharge, Mr. Fa. I’m very sorry.”
“Don’t apologize! This isn’t your fault! Just wrap this up so I know who I need to kill!”
One swab goes into a vial. Katara reaches for another. “I’m going to need to swab… between her legs now, Mr. Fa. If this makes you uncomfortable, you are free to step out of the room at any time.”
“What?! Are you CRAZY?! I’m not leaving her! She needs me!”
“You can stay if you want to!” Katara says quickly. “I just thought I’d give you the opportunity - this is going to be hard for you to see.”
“It’s been even worse for her. I can handle it.”
“Alright, that’s good to hear.”
There is rust-red and off-white between Mulan’s legs. So much red and white. Mushu flinches. Katara begins to swab. Mulan groans again.
Katara falters when bits of twig turn up with the off-white and rust-red.
“Is that tree bark?!”
“It appears to be…”
“Who the hell shoved a branch inside my little girl?!”
“Well, I was wondering if you could tell me…” Katara takes a deep breath. “Mr. Fa, is there anyone you know of that might have wanted to hurt your daughter?”
“Cousin,” he tells her. “She’s my baby cousin. And who the hell would want to do this?! She’s sixteen! She’s a little girl!”
“Is there anything at all that you-”
He pales. “Fan told me he thought it was that group from the news! ‘God’s Will First’ or some shit. He said they hurt the kids!”
“The… the cult?”
“Yeah. Mulan wanted to join the football team, so she pulled a Twelfth Night and pretended to be a boy for a while.” Mushu’s eyes darken. “Guess the fuckers had some issues with that. Fan said he got a phone call warning them, but…” He trailed off. “In the car, Pretty Bo- her boyfriend said there were eight of ‘em. That’s how many are running around, right? Nobody else would wanna hurt her…”
“Oh…” Katara trails off. Don’t think about Korra. “I’m so sorry.”
Mulan makes a noise. This time it sounds like more than just a groan.
“…us…hu?”
“Miss Fa?” she calls out. “Miss Fa, can you hear me?”
“Huh? … Mushu?”
“Oh, thank God!” He throws his arms around her. “Thank God! She lives!”
“Mushu… where am I?”
“You… Mulan, you’re in the hospital.”
“Hospital?” She groans again, and reaches to rub her head. “What… why am I…?” Her eyes go wide. “Shang! Mitch! Are they okay?! Are they… are they dead?!”
“They’re okay, baby girl, they’re okay. You’re the only one they found unconscious.”
“Oh… oh!” She grabs at Katara in desperation. “Emergency contraceptive! I need an emergency contraceptive! Now! I have to give these motherfuckers the middle finger!”
“What?”
“They… they kept saying they were going to remind me what I was created to be… They said they would keep me alive, with another life… I can’t be a mom! I’m sixteen! You have to do something!”
“Alright,” Katara says. “Okay, I can do that. I’ll send the nurse to go bring you some. Do you want any water with that?”
Mulan nods quickly. “Yeah. I… I need to get the taste out of my mouth.”
“Okay.” Katara tries to sound soothing. “Okay. We have most of the procedure taken care of. You’re almost done, there’s just a few more things I need and then we’ll see about getting you cleaned up, alright?”
“I don’t know that I’m ever gonna feel clean again after this.”
“Mulan…” Mushu looks heartbroken.
Katara swallows. “Miss Fa, I know this is… hard, but it does get easier. I promise.” Mulan doesn’t look at her. “I’m going to need to see your hands…”