DISC: I DO NOT own any of the characters from LOK. They belong to Brike. Enjoy!

"When She Needs Her Most"

The pre-teen shivered as she gazed around the unfamiliar neighborhood. She hadn't meant to go this far from home. She had just needed to get out and clear her head. But now she was lost. And night was soon approaching.

Wrapping her arms around herself, Jinora tried her best to make out any familiar landmarks. She blinked back the tears as she realized the predicament she had gotten herself into. If only she hadn't let Ikki's comments get to her. If only she had just taken it for what it was, which was her younger sister being mad because she was punished for the night. Instead, Jinora had gotten indignant and tried to stand up for the one who wasn't there to stand up for herself. Ikki's insults hadn't been hurled at Jinora, but at Korra. While Jinora knew Ikki hadn't meant what she said, she felt she had to defend their older sister.

Now as she tried to find her way back home, the twelve-year-old was regretting her decision to wander so far away from home. The sudden sound of footsteps approaching her quickly made the pre-teen take off at fast speed. Using air bending to propel herself through the streets, she tried to lose the person or people chasing her. As Jinora rounded the corner, she tripped and fell. Trying to get back up, she felt herself being pushed down from behind.

"And here I thought we weren't gonna find anything fun to do," a male voice said in her left ear.

Jinora held her breath. The guy smelled like alcohol. Struggling to get up, she blasted wind in her attacker's face. Thanking the spirits when she was able to get away, Jinora ran for the nearest building. As she continued to run, Jinora suddenly felt something hit her in the side of the head. As a feeling of dizziness swept over her, she hid behind a nearby building. As she watched the two guys who had chased her run past, she sighed with relief. She only prayed whoever found her next was a friend.

*****

The sudden sound of beeping and unfamiliar voices caused Jinora to open her brown eyes a little while later. She felt a gentle hand on her right shoulder. She vaguely recognized the touch.

"Jinora, you need to stay still, honey."

Jinora realized she recognized the voice as well. She tried to speak, but no words came out right away. As she felt another person touch her, she tried to airbend to put distance between herself and the stranger. But to her growing horror, nothing happened! As her breath started to quicken from fear, Jinora felt the unshed tears behind her honey colored eyes.

"Jinora, honey, you're gonna be okay," Senna assured her niece.

"Ka…Korra. Korra….Korra…" Jinora managed to say her older sister's name, but that was it. She just kept repeating Korra's name, hoping Senna would get the point.

"I'll get her for you," Senna soothed the frightened girl. She patted Jinora's shoulder as she turned to leave. She spoke to the other person who had touched Jinora a few minutes ago before leaving.

"Senna will be back," the stranger assured the frightened child. "Your parents were really worried about you. They're on their way. My name is Lena. I'm a good friend of Senna's. You need to rest. Does your head hurt?"

Jinora nodded slowly.

"Do you feel like you're going to throw up?"

Jinora thought for a minute before nodding.

"Okay. We're gonna have to get a Ct to make sure you're okay," Lena gently explained. "It won't hurt."

Jinora shook her head.

"Korra!" she insisted rather loudly.

"It's okay, sweetheart. We won't take you anywhere until Senna gets here with Korra."

Jinora nodded.

**

Meanwhile, Korra was pacing back and forth in the lobby of Republic City memorial. She had been going out of her mind with worry ever since she had received the call from Tenzin, telling her that Jinora was missing. She had looked for her younger sister for three hours with no success. Not knowing what else to do, Korra had dropped Aisha off with Mako and hurried to meet her mother at the hospital, hoping she would have some news.

Spotting her mother coming towards her, Korra stopped pacing. She gave her an expectant look.

"Honey, its okay," her mother assured her. "They just brought Jinora in."

"Thank the spirits, " Korra breathed. "Is she hurt?"

"She doesn't appear to be too injured. She has a bump on her head. Lena's gonna get a CT. She's pretty scared though. She was shaking and she just kept repeating your name."

Korra was taken aback by this.

"Can I see her?"

"That's what I was going to suggest. Maybe you could get something out of her. we need to know what happened."

Korra nodded. She followed her mother into the elevator and into the ER. They walked down a hallway into a curtained off area.

"Jinora," Korra said softly. She approached her little sister with caution, not wanting to scare her. Sitting down on the bed, Korra had just enough time to hold her arms out before the frightened pre-teen in front of her dove for the safety of her lap. The soothing technique was automatic for Korra by now. She ran a hand through Jinora's hair and drew calming circles on her back while talking to her softly. "Shh, shh, Jinora, it's okay, it's okay. You're safe now. I have you. Korra has you now. Shh…I'm here…" Jinora let out a fearful sob as she buried her face in Korra's left shoulder. She let the tears fall as she felt her older sister-her protector start rocking her gently. She wasn't even aware of Lena and Senna moving the stretcher forward. She just continued to cry from fear in the safest place she knew. The sound of her aunt addressing her was what caused the twelve-year-old to raise her head from KOrra's chest.

"Honey, you're gonna have to lay down now. Korra can hold you afterwards," Senna gently explained.

Jinora clung on even tighter to Korra if that were possible.

"Jinora, it's okay. I'm not gonna leave you," Korra assured her. "You need to lie down now." With that, she managed to pry Jinora's arms from around her neck and gently laid her upon the bed. She promised her younger sister that she would be back, kissed her forehead and left with her mother to wait until the CT was taken. The minute it was done, Korra was allowed back in the room. This time, she asked if she could pick Jinora up.

"You need to be careful," Lena cautioned, but you can hold her."

"Okay," with that, Korra gently lifted the twelve-year-old into her arms. "Aww, up you come. It's okay…its okay…" with that, she went over to a chair in the corner of the room and sat down with Jinora safely in her embrace. "Jinora, what happened? How did you get hurt?"

"Some guys were chasing me," she answered tearfully. She let out another sob before continuing. "I tried to get away, but they hit me with something and I fell down."

Korra's blood ran cold at the thought of what could have happened to Jinora if Lin hadn't shown up when she did. The sound of Jinora coughing and sobbing at the same time brought Korra back to the present.

"Shh, shh, take a deep breath for me," she gently instructed.

Jinora did so after am minute.

"Thatta girl. Again," Korra requested.

Jinora obeyed after a minute or so.

"That's it. Good. Why did you run away?"

Korra's tone wasn't accusatory. She was honestly concerned as to why her younger sister had done something so out of character for her.

"Ikki said something really mean about you," Jinora explained through her tears. "I got really mad. I had to get out of there for a while. I got lost! "

"Okay, it's okay. Try to settle down," Korra advised as Jinora started coughing again. She gently pressed a cup of water to her younger sister's lips. She coaxed her to take a few sips and the pre-teen obeyed.

Just then, Lena returned.

"The CT is clear," she announced.

"Thank goodness," Korra said with relief.

"I wanna keep Jinora here for a few hours for observation since she did hit her head. She can go home in a few hours. You're welcome to stay with her. Did she tell you what happened?"

"Sort of," Korra revealed.

"Korra," Jinora's scared voice interrupted the conversation.

"Yeah, kiddo," Korra glanced down at her younger sister. She frowned when she saw a blush creeping up her neck. "What's up?"

"I…I need to go to the bathroom," Jinora frowned.

"Okay. I'll take you. It's okay," Korra assured her. "We all need a little help sometimes." With that, she set Jinora upon the ground and led her to the bathroom. She let her have her privacy, but assured her she would be right outside the stall door if she needed her.

Three minutes went by without incident. Korra was just about to ask Jinora if she was okay when the sudden sound of Jinora heaving grabbed Korra's attention. She pushed open the bathroom door and knelt down in back of her younger sister. Rubbing her back, she tried to keep her calm as Jinora lost whatever she had eaten that day.

"There you go. Thatta girl. Just get it up. You're okay…" Korra soothed. She had heard her mother say the exact same thing to her whenever she had been sick in the past.

Once Jinora's stomach had calmed down, Korra put the back of her hand to the pre-teen's forehead. Relieved when she didn't have a fever, she flushed the toilet before turning her attention back to Jinora. "Can I pick you up?"

"Uh-huh," Jinora said as she caught her breath.

"Are you sure?" Korra asked.

"I'm sure," Jinora whispered. "Korra, I have to tell you something."

"What is it? You know you can tell me anything," she reminded her. She planted a kiss on Jinora's head. She found a bench in the hallway and sat down still holding her younger sister.

Jinora took a shaky breath before telling her older sister what she needed to know.

"Take your time," Korra assured her, "it's okay to take your time."

"When I woke up, I tried to airbend and…I…be=but I…I couldn't!" she broke down all over again, Heart wrenching sobs filling the air.

"Are you sure?" Korra asked. She tried to keep her own fear out of her voice. Jinora needed her to be strong.

Jinora nodded as more tears came.

"Korra, please, fix it!" Jinora begged. She locked eyes with her older sister, desperation in her honey colored depths.

"Shh, shh, let me try something," with that, Korra closed her eyes. Concentrating harder than she had in a long time, Reaching out her index finger on her right hand, she placed it on Jinora's forehead. Making sure not to apply too much pressure, she let her Avatar powers do the rest.

"Try it now," she said, opening her eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Jinora moved her arms in a semi-circle. As she felt the wind pick up, she managed a small smile for Korra. Throwing her arms around her older sister's neck, Jinora let the remaining tears fall.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"No thanks needed," Korra assured her. "I'm just glad it worked. Come on, let's get you back to your bed before my Mom and Lena think I broke you out."

Jinora actually giggled at her older sister's words.

******

"There you are!" Senna said with relief when she saw her daughter and Jinora coming towards her and Lena. "Is everything okay?"

"We're getting there," Korra replied. She set Jinora down on the bed and ran a hand through her hair. Turning to Lena, she explained what had happened in the bathroom.

"Do you feel dizzy, Jinora?" Lena asked.

"No," Jinora replied.

"Okay. As long as you don't throw up again, you should be okay. Senna's gonna take you up to your room for the night. Your parents arrived ten minutes ago. They're anxious to see you."

Jinora turned to Korra.

"Will you come with me, please?"

"Sure," Korra agreed. She walked along the stretcher for the five minute journey.

"Jinora!" Pema's arms were around her eldest daughter the minute she saw her. "You had us worried half to death!"

"I'm sorry," Jinora said lowly.

"We're just glad you're safe," Tenzin joined in the hug. "Don't ever do something like that again. What made you run away?"

Jinora sighed. She explained to her parents what had happened.

"I'll talk to Ikki," Pema assured Jinora.

Tenzin meanwhile had just spotted Korra. He walked over to her and gave her a hug.

"Thank you, Korra. Thank you for keeping our little girl safe."

"Any time. But I didn't do much," she said truthfully. "Besides, Jinora means a lot to me. They all do," Korra let a fond smile spread across her face. As she watched Tenzin return to his family, she snuck out quietly. She would check on Jinora tomorrow. Her younger sister needed time with her parents.

"Is everything okay now?" Senna asked as Korra met her in the lobby.

"Everything's fine," Korra gave her mother a hug and smiled as she received a kiss in return. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, little one. What was the hug for?" Senna asked as she lead the way outside.

"Just because I Love you," Korra replied.

"Aw, I'll take just because hugs and kisses from you any time, sweetheart," her mother wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they headed towards the docks to catch a ferry home. It had certainly been a day Korra wouldn't forget any time soon.

The END