"If I am what I have, and if I lose what I have, who, then, am I?" German psychologist Erich Fromm.

Bolin's POV

I have to admit I was surprised when Su told me I was going to be transferred to Republic City for an indefinite amount of time. When I asked what department she smiled and informed me the B.A.U. team. Being a profiler was something I'd always wanted and now as a detective I was learning the ins and outs. Su, the Zaofu leader always saw the best in everyone in her city and so she saw the potential I had to be able to work in the Federal Government. But there was one problem. My older brother, Mako, worked there. He was the team leader and he and I didn't really see eye to eye.

So when I arrived I wasn't surprised he wasn't in yet. The Director, Toph Bei Fong, pointed me over to the office I was going to be using but before I could enter someone cut me off, arms crossed over her chest. She was a female with long raven hair and light green eyes. And if I didn't know any better I would say she was ticked.

"Toph Bei Fong said this was going to be my office," I said.

"This is Kor-my office," she answered. "I just finished moving my stuff over, that one is yours," she added, gesturing to the opposite side of the corridor. "My name is Asami, by the way."

"Bolin Hotchner," I introduced, shaking her hand.

"Are you related to Mako?"

Of course he wouldn't mention me. I nodded. "I'm his younger brother."

Her eyes widened slightly. "And you're joining our team?"

"That's the plan."

"Asami," someone called and I turned to see a familiar face. It was Iroh, my brother's best friend. He smiled and shook my head. "Hey there Bo. How's it going?"

"I'm joining the team."

He raised a brow. "Huh, that'll be interesting. Well, you need to join us in the conference room, Mako is going to give us a new case."

I nodded my head and followed the pair inside to find my brother looking over a file, completely ignoring me. Not that I would expect anything less. He always thought I wouldn't be able to handle a job like his. But I was going to prove him wrong.

"Everyone this is Bolin, he will be joining our team," he said momentarily, gesturing towards me.

"Zuko," the eldest man introduced, shaking my hand. "But everyone calls me Rossi."

"You can socialize later," my brother stated before getting up. "Our current case is about a school math teacher found on school grounds dead, it looks like a hit and run."

"So we're investigating what exactly?" Rossi asked.

"Three teenage girls swallowed a bottle of pills after these videos were leaked online," Mako replied showing us the footage of the girl's stripping. "David Sutton, the driver's ed and science teacher, was accused of molestation but before three of the key witnesses testified they were found in their rooms unconscious."

"If you ask me, whoever killed him did society a favor," Asami commented. There was something in her voice, a bitterness of sorts, and I had to wonder what had happened here.

I saw a few of the team shift at her comment but they said nothing. "It's still a crime." My brother turned off the screen, facing us. "Also I will be conducting mental health assessments with everyone except with our new member for what happened two weeks ago."

"What happened two weeks ago?" I asked curiously.

"We lost one of our agents. That's all you need to know."

I took a deep breath, trying to control my temper as he asked us to meet at the crime scene. He put his stuff away and I waited for everyone to clear the room before approaching him.

"I know you and I bump head but you don't have to treat me like I'm nothing," I told him. He didn't answer to that. "By the way, thank you for giving this-"

"Don't thank me," Mako said cutting me off, finally looking up at me. "I didn't do you a favor. We're an agent short and Bei Fong's daughter thought you'd be able to help, temporarily."

"Why can't you just give me a chance?" He always did this. Always.

"This is your chance. You make a mistake and you'll be taken off this team, effective immediately."

I let out an irritated sigh. Looked like I was going to be walking on egg shells for a while.

Iroh's POV

I had to admit I was surprised to find out I'd be the first one to go in with Mako. Everyone had left after he announced that we would have to see him about what happened to Korra. I had expected that Asami would go in first, but she had been the first one out the door, going as fast as she could with her cane. I sighed. Korra was still a touchy subject for my girlfriend. Probably always would be.

Mako stared at me and I did the same before leaning back against the sofa in his office. It still seemed so unreal that she was gone. That she didn't make it. Korra had fought for so long…

"I don't know what I'm supposed to say," I began. "I didn't really get to know her all that well."

"You can talk about anything you liked about her," Mako offered.

I couldn't help but smile. "She was stubborn as hell, she reminded me of you." He didn't say anything and I sighed. "It isn't fair," I added quietly. "She went through so much so that she could die at the hands of…him."

"We don't always win."

I sighed. "But if we can't keep each other safe, then what's the point of what we do?"

Hotch didn't answer. What could he say really? I was right. I mean…was all this really worth it?

Mako's POV

After Iroh's assessment I figured I should join the team in the field and see what information they had gathered. I had to admit that Iroh did have a point. Sometimes our job didn't seem worth it. I of all people should know that, seeing as I had practically gotten my ex wife killed by one of the monsters.

But it was those others that we caught that made it worth it. The peace that I saw in the faces of the family, the relief in the people that we helped. The girl that Korra had given CPR to in the Northern Tribe. She had called me a couple of days ago asking to speak to her, to let her know she was back at the University and back on her feet. It had been hard to tell her that she was gone.

"What have you got?" I asked.

"Based on what we've gathered the headlights of the car were off," my younger brother answered, handing me a bag with evidence. "Then there's the acceleration marks here and then brake marks…here." He paused looking up at me. "This wasn't an accident."

I nodded. "You stay here with Asami and see what else the medical examiner can tell us," I told him. "Bei Fong, I need you to go to the D.A. and see who had a motive to kill Sutton. Rossi and I will interview the wife. We'll meet back at headquarters in an hour."

Zuko's POV

After following a few leads I had decided that I might as well just get this over with. I'd always had a hard time expressing my feelings and today was no different. I didn't know how I felt about talking to a shrink, well Mako wasn't really a shrink but still. He wanted to see how I was doing and I really didn't know. I had known Korra since she was an infant and I had been very good friends with her father. It was hard to watch as her casket was lowered, knowing she was gone. She had been a hell of a fighter and we had gotten along fairly well. I was going to miss her.

I studied Mako for a moment, noticing that he was gloomy himself. Everyone had been since Korra had passed. It wasn't the same without her. "You know everyone feels it but doesn't want to talk about it," Hotch said after a moment.

I nodded my head. "It's too soon, Mako," I answered. "You know that better than anyone."

He winced and I almost regretted mentioning that. Not long ago Mako had lost his wife to a serial killer, George Foyet. He had a hard time coping and that's what was happening with the team. They were just having a hard time.

"Doesn't Toph usually run these assessments?" I asked after a moment.

"You think she would have better luck?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "No, I don't think so," I answered. He smiled at that. "I know you grieve privately. But you've been through more than any of us in a very short time. How are you doing?"

Mako shook his head. "I'm fine." I didn't answer and he sighed. "I think it's an ongoing process. But this is not my assessment. I'm supposed to be asking how you're doing."

I sighed. "I've always had trouble letting people in," I admitted. "But this is different." I paused, gathering my thoughts. "I guess, I've come to realize that I'm more married to this team than I was to three ex wives. Korra was a good agent. She didn't deserve to die."

"I know," Hotch replied. "It's been a hard year. But we'll get through it."

I nodded my head. "We will."

Bolin's POV

After getting the evidence analyzed the lab tech came to the conclusion that we were looking for a used, blue Impala based on the car parts and paint found on the victim. I wasn't surprised when the two techs said there were a lot of blue and used Impalas in the city. Cases were never that easy.

I looked over the complaints of the students seeing one that stuck out. A going-to-be valedictorian was expelled from the victim's classroom after he found weed in her locker. I told Rossi about this and asked if he could come with me to interview her. He agreed and not long after were at the could be suspect's home. We identified ourselves and she reluctantly agree d to talk to us. We told her what happened to her former teacher and I could see the surprise in her face.

"You didn't like Mr. Sutton, did you, Karina?" Rossi asked.

"He is the reason I wanted to be a marine biologist," she answered.

"So what made you file the long list of complaints before you were expelled?" I asked. "When he found your weed?"

She scoffed. "My weed? He put it there."

"What makes you say that?"

"He wanted me to…perform for him," Karina said. "Mr. Sutton wrecked my life when I refused. Am I little bitter? Yes. Would I kill him? No."

"What do you mean perform?"Rossi questioned.

"Use your imagination."

"Where were you last night?" I asked her.

"Working the graveyard shift at the 711 around the corner. You can ask my manager."

"Just one more question," the older agent began. "Do you know anyone who drives a beat up blue Impala?"

Karina seemed to think about it for a moment. "The only blue impala's I can remember are the ones Mr. Sutton used for drivers ed."

Rossi and I shared a look. We were going to have to go back to the school and get more information about what happened.

Mako's POV

After Rossi called me to let me know what he and my brother had found out by talking to what seemed to be a student with a grudge, I asked Lin to accompany me to the school. I could see that she was not happy about it but seeing as Asami couldn't be out in the field and Iroh wouldn't leave her side, she didn't really have much of a choice. The ride there was quiet and I knew she was mad about having to do the assessment but it wasn't my call. We arrived and asked for directions to the drivers ed car. There were three cars covered up with brown tarps and we began to uncover them, checking for dents but keeping in mind the students had had a crack at them as well. It wasn't until we reached the third car that we found something out of the ordinary.

"Keys are in the ignition," I noted as I continued my inspection. I saw a blue thread caught in the gear shift and bagged it before getting out of the car. "See anything else?"

"Bumper is dented," Bei Fong noted. "And it looks like there's blood."

I inspected this before calling the evidence collection team to come and examine the car. Afterward I looked over at the older woman who seemed to have come to the same conclusion as me.

"So it was a student who did it."

"Looks like it."

"We should head back to headquarters, see if Asami and Iroh can pull up who's been using this car," I told her. She nodded and headed over to the car. "Oh and Lin, I'll need to talk to you when we get back."

She slammed the door in response. That was going to be a fun assessment.

Lin's POV

I thought this therapy charade was unnecessary and pointless. Sure it was protocol and my mother had always been big on protocol but it didn't mean that I agreed with it. Korra had been a good team member, smart, hard worker…selfless. It had hurt to know that she wouldn't be around anymore. The kid was one of the best agents I had seen in a while. She had gone through so much yet she still found it in herself to get up every morning and catch all the psychos we dealt with. But this time a monster had won, her own monster. And that made me feel guilty.

"Lin, it's been twenty minutes."

"I have nothing to talk about." The day this nightmare started I had been unwillingly sucked into a mess I didn't want to be part of.

"You need to vent," Hotch tried.

I raised a brow. "Really?" I asked sarcastically. "Because I know about one issue I really want to vent about."

"Lin, we've been through this. It was necessary."

"I don't want any part in this. Everyone is in pain, Hotch."

"So are you," he answered. "And I understand it's difficult for you. It is for me too."

"We could have lost Asami."

"This isn't about Asami. It's about you."

I stood. "I'm not going to talk about what happened to Korra," I told him before walking out.

There wasn't much to say. She was gone. That was that. I had better things to do than to sit around and talk about something that I hadn't come to terms with.

Bolin's POV

After Hotch and Bei Fong found some new evidence on the drivers ed car, I decided to investigate further into the issue. The school principle led me to a shed where the former teacher used to store supplies for the driving class. I looked around at the manuals and CD's before noticing another strand of thread, similar to the one my brother had found. I bagged it and continued to look around before spotting a basket and a sign under it that read: 'All students will leave their phones in the basket for the duration of the class.' I hummed thoughtfully, remembering what I'd heard about Samantha Cole, the student in the coma. She had sent a picture of herself to Mr. Sutton, but now adding on this new information it was possible that he had sent the photo to himself.

I got a call and answered my phone, Iroh's voice greeting me on the other end. "Hey Bo, did you find anything?"

"Yeah, another piece of thread and I think I might know how Samantha's photo was sent to Mr. Sutton's email," I answered. "He collected their phones during class. My guess is she asked her to perform for him and when she refused he had to find a way to discredit her."

Iroh hummed in response. "That makes a lot of sense. Asami and I have been looking through her media files and she seems like a good kid."

"Have you figured out what this thread thing is?"

"Oh yeah, that's what I was calling you about," he replied. "Hotch wants you to pick up three of Samantha's friends. All four had bracelets with the same color thread. He thinks they might know something."

"Send me the names and I'll take them back to headquarters."

Time to get some answers.

Mako's POV

We were finally getting somewhere. Thanks to Asami and Iroh we finally had a lead on the blue thread we found in the vehicle and the teacher's shed. As much as I hated to admit it, Bolin wasn't doing too bad. He was contributing, checking in, exploring ideas, but I knew the reason for that. I made it very clear I'd keep a close watch on him and that's why he was playing by the rules, but he'd slip up. He always did.

Once he brought the girls in I notified their parents and talked to the girls about having a lawyer and/or a parent present during the interrogation. They all refused. Not a very smart move.

I split up the team in pairs and asked each pair to interrogate a girl. I asked Asami to be with me and asked the other two older agents to take a new member. We were going to do this as swiftly and carefully as possible. By the time we were all done we would know what happened two nights ago.

"We found your prints in the car and in Mr. Sutton's shed," I began. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"He was my hero," Chloe began. "He taught me to love science. He used to tell us that it was an art and we were the artists." She paused, wiping away her tears. "But then he started to ask for sexual favors and everything changed. He started with Samantha, but she wouldn't do it."

Asami reached out, placing a hand over hers and I could see why she was trying to comfort the teen. She had been there once, comforting her best friend after being abused by her uncle. I could imagine that this hit home a little too hard for the computer specialist.

"You need to tell us everything that happened," the tech told her gently.

The next hour was a blur. Chloe gave us all the details. How Mr. Sutton had asked her to meet him at the shed at 11 p.m. and how she planned to record everything on her phone so that people knew the truth. He had pulled down his underwear, tried to touch her and her phone fell out. She erased it afterwards because of what happened next. Chloe had run outside, gotten into the car because she knew the keys were always in the ignition. She got scared and tried to speed away but he ran in front of the car and she didn't see him in time to stop and hit him.

I nodded my head, asking her to wait while I talked to my other colleagues. I asked Asami if she was okay and she simply nodded her head, telling me she was fine as we waited. Only minutes later the rest of the team emerged and I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off my Lin.

"Megan confessed," she said.

I frowned before Rossi spoke up as well. "Emma did too."

"So did Chloe," I replied. What the hell?

"Under Republic City law the D.A. can only go after the driver," Asami stated matter of fact. "We have no case."

"A murder was committed."

"Guy was a pervert," she shot back at me. "He got what he deserved. Ask Director Bei Fong. We're going to have to let them go."

I sighed and nodded my head as I headed toward the Director's office though I knew Asami was right. We had no case.

Asami's POV

I didn't want to be here. I had tried to talk myself out of it but it was no use. I was chosen to go last in this "therapy" session. Not hard to guess why. Korra had been a little sister to me; I had been the one that was closest to her. And after I shut everyone out Mako wanted to make sure I was ready to be back. In all honesty, I wasn't, but I had to keep my promise. I had to stay in the B.A.U. for her.

We sat in silence for a while until I let out an irritated sigh. This was a waste of my time. "So I came here to do what? Talk about losing Korra?" I scoffed, shaking my head. "Did the great Toph Bei Fong put you up to this?"

Mako didn't say anything for a moment as he studied me. "The assessment is routine," he reminded. "I asked her to let me do it instead of bringing in somebody from the outside."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "So it's about the five stages of grief," I said. "You want to figure out where we all are. Okay, denial. 'I'm fine, this can't be happening to me.' Well, it did happen to me, didn't it? I've been trying to deal with it, so that rules that out. What else is there? Bargaining. Depression." I paused, taking a deep breath. "Acceptance. Well, obviously I haven't accepted it; otherwise I wouldn't be in here. So, where does that leave me?"

"Angry."

"Angry," I repeated, my mind going back to that day. I nodded my head, feeling a familiar feeling rise. "Yes, sometimes I feel like I want to quit my job and spend my time chasing down the son of a bitch who killed Korra. You're damn right, I'm angry."

I could still remember it as if it were yesterday. I could still hear that shot ring out as if I was still trapped there. Korra's body had fallen to the floor as she took shaky, uneven breaths. I had crawled over to her, telling her to hang out, promising we would get out of there alive. But we didn't. Only I did, and it was my fault.

"If I had checked my house," I whispered almost myself. "If I would have let Iroh walk me inside…Korra wouldn't have given herself up. She wouldn't be dead."

"Asami, this isn't your fault," Mako told me gently. "You did everything you could to keep her alive."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I replied, my voice rising. "I did everything I could, we all did. I know. Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"I know it seems like you didn't do enough but you did. It will go away in time."

"What will go away? This guilt?" He straightened at that. This damn suffocating feeling that I had in my chest was never going to go away. Never.

"Just because you were in there with her doesn't mean you could have affected the outcome. You were hurt too," Hotch reminded me. "We all wish we had that kind of control."

"So what do we do? Leave it up to fate?" I asked sharply. "I can't blame anybody? This was the will of the Spirits? No. I can't accept that." I shook my head, my hands turning into fists. "I do blame someone. I blame Unalaq Morgan. I blame you too. You knew she'd come for me and you didn't stop her!"

I could feel the tears start to fall and I did nothing to stop them. My shoulders sagged and shook as I covered my face with my hands, shaking my head.

"She was my best friend. I watched her die and I'm supposed to go on like nothing happened?" I asked, looking up at him. I wiped away my tears. I looked back up at him. "You know, we, uh, we come in here and we talk to you. Where do you go? Where are you in all of this?"

Hotch closed his eyes, shaking his head. I knew he had been fond of Korra, liked her in a way.

"Same place as you," Mako answered quietly. "Wishing she was here."

I nodded. How I really wished that this was all a big nightmare and I'd wake up and she would be here again. But it wasn't. And I was never waking up.

Bolin's POV

I had to admit that I was a bit disappointed when it turned out we really couldn't prosecute anyone because the three girls confessions were rock solid and we could only technically go after one person, the driver. Well, if I was being honest, it seemed like I was the only one that was disappointed. Everyone else, especially the Sato tech, seemed to be happy that the teenagers would be set free. My brother had been right, a crime was committed, but even he didn't push to have us go another round with the girls to see if they would crack. I was going to check out for the day when I found him standing at my door.

"You did good today," he said.

I smiled. "Finally got used to the idea that you're going to be seeing your baby brother more often?"

"This is just temporary," my brother reminded me. "Don't get too comfortable."

"A simple 'I'm proud of you' would have been enough, Mako."

"You haven't changed."

"Well it's a family trait," I shot back.

He didn't answer just turned around and left. I let out an irritated sigh. What did I have to do to impress him?

Asami's POV

After we were dismissed for the day, I decided to pay Samantha Cole a visit. Toph Bei Fong had given us all an earful but I really didn't care. I meant what I said, that creep deserved it.

I watched from outside the room how the three girls huddled around their friend, tears in their eyes. It was admirable that even at sixteen they were willing to do anything for each other, even go to prison. I could relate. My bond with Korra had been similar. I would have done everything and anything for her. I just regretted not killing that son of a bitch when he'd threatened to take Korra from my home eight years ago.

Samantha's eyes fluttered and I couldn't help but smile. She was going to be okay. Sure, it would take a while for her to recover completely but with those friends, she'd be back to herself in no time. This had been a good day.

This had been a very long week, as expected seeing as it was the middle of the school year. Korra and I were having a sleepover at my house for the weekend, and I couldn't wait. I was alone in that house most of the time, and Korra was too, so we looked forward to these weekends, when Unalaq would let her come over.

Korra hardly ever talked in class, and she never said much about her home life. A couple weeks ago she had taken me with her once to see her mom, the first time she'd let me tag along since I'd known her. Her mother was a sweet woman, and I could see she adored her daughter. I hadn't gotten a chance to know my mother, but I imagined, hoped, that we could've had a relationship like theirs.

Finally, the final bell cut through the air and everyone was up and out of the room before the teacher could say otherwise. I grabbed my purse and started toward our usual meeting point, and I spotted Korra easily walking down the steps. The tan brunette really did stick out like a sore thumb; a short thirteen year old amongst all the sixteen and seventeen year olds. She was short, lean and always wore a sweater and ponytail, no matter the weather. There was also the fact that she was wicked smart, relatively quiet, but around me she could be fun and have a good time.

"Hey," I called as she approached. She gave a small smile in return as she took out her earbuds. "You ready for tonight?"

She nodded, giving a quiet 'yeah' in reply as she followed me out of the building and to my car. Top of the line, of course. Dad insisted. Korra and I had a routine when it came to these weekends. First, we'd go to the store, grab a bunch of junk food and snacks, then a pizza and some Chinese food before finally heading home and playing video games and watching movie. Monday was a holiday so that meant we had three days to not worry about anything else.

We got home and Korra dropped her backpack in the doorway next to mine, setting the pizza on the table in the dining room before pulling her sweater off to reveal a dark tank top. I watched from the corner of my eye, noticing the bruises that decorated her arms and wrists. I didn't ask, but we both knew I knew where they were from. I wasn't stupid, and Korra wasn't naive enough to think I hadn't figured it out. But I never asked for confirmation, knowing that it had been a long road for Korra to trust me enough to let me see. I wouldn't jeopardize that.

I handed her a bottle of water and a plate, telling her to help herself. "So, how was school?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Had three tests. Got an A on all of them." Of course. "How about you?"

I chuckled. "I did all right. Three As, two Bs and an A plus in computer science," I revealed with a wink. That was my strong suit. Anything that had to do with technology or engineering I was a genius in.

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly, taking a bite of her pizza. Without a word I gave her another slice, noticing that she only seemed to get thinner before I walked back into the living room to set up the gaming console. She sent me a halfhearted glare but ate that piece of pepperoni goodness. We talked a little as we ate, and I told her about this really cute senior I was seeing, how good looking he was, how smart. Korra would nod to show that she was listening but contributed little to that conversation. Boys were never a topic she cared to discuss, though I'd tried when a couple had asked her out. She would only brush them off.

After we finished eating, we each grabbed a controller and started up the game. A little while later I was getting frustrated when I noticed Korra was winning, and all she did was smirk as she continued her assault. And seconds later she was declared the winner. The next round however went more to my favor, and it wasn't till I'd whooped her butt that I realized Korra wasn't all there. She was looking at the screen, hands still holding the controller, but her eyes were a million miles away.

"You're thinking awfully hard over there," I lightly joked.

Korra blinked, slow, once, before she shook her head and looked over at me. "Hmm?"

"I've shot you down twice all ready."

She looked at the screen before returning her attention to me. "Sorry, I was just trying to remember what homework I had."

"Forget homework! It's Friday. How about a movie instead?"

"I'd rather just get it out of the way, but I can multitask."

I sighed but nodded, knowing that was the best I was going to get. So I put on the movie and quickly changed into my pajamas. Korra did the same, putting on a pair of blue sweats and a white t-shirt before curling up on the couch and opening her notebook. Two movies later and a little past midnight, I decided to call it a night, and Korra was quick to agree, rubbing her eyes and stretching her arms above her head.

We went to my room, and I sat up the mattress on the floor for Korra. "Is your dad going to be back soon?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Big project at the office." As usual. "Now, let's get some sleep. We're going to need all the rest we can get if we're going hiking first thing in the morning." She grinned in reply before laying up and covering herself with the quilt before falling asleep rather quickly and I was quick to follow suit.

It only seemed like minutes had gone by before I heard something, and I slowly woke and raised myself up on my elbows, rubbing my eyes. I heard it again, and my mind registered that the only thing capable of that sound was Korra.

I turned on the light and watched as she tossed and turned in her sleep, her hands gripping onto the blanket tightly and she whimpered and muttered unintelligibly. I got out of bed and knelt down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. I narrowly dodged a hand that launched toward my head as she sat up instantly. Her eyes were wide, panicked as she looked around the room wildly, panting, her breathing uneven.

I grabbed her inhaler and gave it to her, watching as she took two big puffs, two deep breaths. Her body sagged, no longer on high alert as I grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry," she apologized.

"It's okay. No harm done," I assured. She said nothing, staring at the quilt and picking at invisible pieces of lint. I took a deep breath, preparing myself. "Korra...you don't have to answer this but...does Unalaq...does he...?"

I didn't finish and she didn't need me to. And I didn't really need her to answer. Tears pooled in her eyes before dripping onto her blanket, and I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close and soothing her as best I could. So it was abuse. And her uncle was responsible. After a moment she pulled away, wiping her cheeks roughly. I strightened the blanket before crawling underneath it with her and laying down.

"Go to sleep. I'm right here. No one is going to hurt you here."

Korra's blue eyes studied me for a moment before she scooted closer and closed her eyes. I reached up to the lamp and turned it off before settling back onto the mattress and wrapping my arms around the smaller girl and she was once again asleep in no time, her body limp and relaxed. Maybe I couldn't stop the abuse, but I could do my best to protect her while she was with me. After all, what are friends for?

"It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone." Rose Kennedy.