DISC: I DO NOT own any of the characters from LOK. They belong to Brike.
Enjoy!
"You Can Always Come Home"
Chapter 4
For the next two days, Senna took care of Korra. The twenty-one-year-old was only able to keep water down, along with small amounts of rice. Both of her parents were worried. Senna did an examination on Korra, but she couldn't find any poison in her system. They would just have to wait for Katara to come. At one point, Senna almost started an IV, fearing her daughter was heading for dehydration. But she finally decided not to, due to the fact that Korra was still able to keep water down.
When Katara arrived, she was greeted happily by her grandchildren and son. After the kids had welcomed her warmly, the healer was taken to Korra's room. She met Senna and TOnraq at the door. Senna briefed Katara on what had been going on since the night before.
"I'm thinking maybe Korra missed a little bit of the poison," Senna guessed. She frowned just then. "I did an examination on her last night and I couldn't find any left."
"I'll have a look," Katara told her.
"is it okay if we stay?" Senna asked.
"Of course," her old mentor consented. With that, she led the way inside.
"Sweetie, Katara's here," Senna explained the minute she reached Korra's side. She let her daughter squeeze her hand as Katara started to examine her.
"How long has her stomach been hurting?" Katara asked as she gently examined Korra's abdominal area.
"Since this morning," Korra gritted out. She squeezed her mother's hand as more cramps came. She tried to breathe through the pain. Just as she got her breathing under control, an especially bad cramp hit. She tried to breathe through it, not wanting to show anymore weakness than she was already displaying.
"Little one, its okay," Senna soothed. She smoothed Korra's hair off of her face as she spoke. Frowning, she noticed Korra's expression change. It looked as though she was trying to hold back her true emotions. The only question was, why?
"How long ago was it that she vomited?" Katara asked Senna.
"A half an hour ago," she replied. "But nothing really came up."
"Okay. I'm going to have to check and see if there's any more poison left. That's the only thing that could be causing this type of reaction."
"I'll be right back," Tonraq announced. "Tenzin wanted to talk to me about something. I won't be long," he kissed Korra on the forehead and left the room.
The minute he was gone, Senna saw Korra's facade crumble right before her eyes. The pained expression returned as well as tears. As much as Senna hated seeing her daughter like this, this was the side Korra only let her see. Korra was definitely a Daddy's girl. But during her most vulnerable times, Senna was the one she needed and her mother never let her down.
"Honey, it's okay to be afraid. I know you're hurting. I'm right here," Senna comforted. She sat down beside Korra and continued stroking her hair. Without Korra having to ask, her mother started to hum and then sing the lullaby she had sung to Korra when she was a little girl. As she felt Korra relax slightly, Senna thanked the spirits up above. She had known from the very beginning that there was a part of Korra that was hers and hers alone. It was this part of her daughter that Senna held close. The part that needed her during times when nobody else would do. And even though Senna wanted nothing more than for Korra to be okay, she cherished the times Korra allowed that hidden part of herself to emerge. It was during these times that Senna saw not the Avatar, not the strong warrior, but her little girl. Her little girl who needed her. And Senna was determined to be there for her, no matter what. And as she glanced down at her daughter, she saw in the eyes identical to her own the need for reassurance, compassion and love only a mother could give. And that's exactly what Senna was going to give her because that's what mothers did. She might not have been able to give it to her growing up, but she was going to make up for it now. And that was one promise Senna was determined to keep.
"I was afraid to come back home," Korra admitted as the pain started to decrease.
"Why?" Senna was surprised by her daughter's admission.
"Ba-because I wasn't sure how you and Dad would react to what I chose to do or what happened to me."
"Little one, listen to me," Senna's voice was stern, but there was also love behind it. "Your father and I love you so much. We were so worried when we found out you hadn't returned to Republic City. I spent every night praying for your safe return…" Senna's voice trailed off as a few tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Mom, I'm gonna be okay," Korra reached out with her free hand and gently touched her mother's face.
`"I know. I just hate seeing you in pain," her mother admitted. Forcing herself to calm down, she continued to speak. "Even if you do something your father and I don't approve of, we will always love you. We will always listen to you and help you find your way again. And most importantly, no matter what you've done or do in the future, I want you to remember one thing."
"What?" Korra took a deep breath as her stomach started to calm down.
"No matter what, you can always come back home," Senna bent down and planted a kiss on Korra's forehead.
Korra could feel a fresh set of tears starting. she let them fall, feeling safe enough to do so.
"Thanks, Mom," she whispered, matching her mother's tone.
"I'm serious," her mother insisted.
"I know. And it means a lot to me," Korra assured her as her eyes started to close. She was exhausted from the whole morning and previous night's events.
"Never forget that," her mother whispered as she continued to stroke her hair.
"I won't," Korra mumbled as she let sleep find her.
"I'm glad," Senna planted a kiss on her daughter's cheek. "I love you, sweetie. Sweet dreams. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere," with that, Senna sat there and waited for her daughter to wake up. She had a feeling that Korra would be just fine. This was just another little bump in the road to a full recovery. And once it was over, Korra would truly be healed. And that was all that mattered to Senna at the moment…
THE END