Author's Notes

This story was a request by agefaquarius.

I always hated midnight shifts, and that hatred only grew since Amon's arrival. When I was first assigned to them, I would usually widdle the night away practicing water bending or night dreaming. But now, I can't go through one shift without risk of being attacked by those awful chi blockers. I look down at my right arm. I flexed my fingers that held the pen and sighed in relief when they responded. My letters were still a little sloppy compared to what they looked like before but I knew I was making progress in regaining my handwriting. I had a particularly nasty fight a few months ago that left most of the fingers in my right hand broken. I was just lucky that Chief Lin Beifong was there to save my ass before those chi blockers took me to Amon to have my bending stolen.

The thought of my boss, well former boss, made my hand halt. She had resigned from the position as Chief of Police and gave it over to Saikhan. I always despised that weak-spined man and I couldn't understand why Beifong had named him her predecessor. He walked around like he owned the place and he had the balls to talk down to the Avatar. I not-so-secretly hoped that Beifong would stroll through those doors one day and take her badge back, then fire Saikhan for good measure. But now that will never happen.

Beifong's bending was stolen by Amon when she sacrificed herself to save the airbending family. When I heard the news, I couldn't concentrate on my work and ended up almost causing an accident. I was given extra duty for my clumsiness but I used it to take a closer look into the Equalist Movement. I was able to identify some of the equalists based on their descriptions and even lent a hand in clearing Asami Sato's name. I couldn't imagine what the poor girl was going through, having to find out her father was an equalist and then be a suspect herself.

I finished writing up my report and sighed in relief, my shift was about to end. My fellow coworkers were all gearing up to leave. I went to the changing room and donned on my civilian clothes, clipping on a waterskin to my waist just in case I needed to use it to protect myself. I sat back at my desk and reorganized the papers to kill the remainder of the time of my shift. Some officers assigned to the next shift were arriving in groups of at least two. Even we were too scared to go out by ourselves, and we were the protectors of the city.

I packed everything I needed and looked up at a cough to my right. "Hey, Zoma," I greeted one of the call dispatchers. I stood from my desk and stretched, feeling the knots in my back unwind slightly. "Ready to go?"

Zoma nodded and we left the station. We took the bus and talked about our night, leaving out anything that would connect us to the Police Department. She wouldn't have much to fear if we were attacked and captured by the equalists, she was a nonbender. I on the other hand had to watch my back. I fought off and even captured an equalist or two during my five years at the Police Department but they were only newbies that just learned chi blocking. They were getting more skilled as of yet and more bold. If someone as great as Lin Beifong could be 'equalized' I probably stood no chance in a real fight.

"Hey, you all right?" Zoma asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Of course, what could possibly be wrong?" I replied sarcastically. She was looking at me with those brown eyes that told me she knew exactly what I was thinking about. That ability made her my best friend, but it also aggravated me at times.

"You had that look on your face," Zoma said, ignoring my rudeness. "You were thinking about her, weren't you?" She didn't say Lin's name but we both knew she was talking about the former chief.

I gazed out the window to watch the world speed past as I answered. "Yeah." Zoma was the only one that knew about my feelings towards Lin Beifong. She kept it a secret and never pried but I could see the curiosity on her face. "I'm worried about her."

Zoma thought for a few minutes of what to say. "I know you are but you need to be worried about yourself too." She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "We all need to worry about ourselves now."

The rest of the ride to my house was quiet between us. The bus halted a block away from my apartment and Zoma and I got off along with a couple people. We exchanged goodbyes and parted ways. I lost myself in a crowd, only exiting it once I reached my apartment building. It was one of the more-dingy ones that littered Republic City but I grew to call this place my home, ratroaches and all. I shared a few words with the landlord who was smoking an exquisite pipe on the steps. He knew of my occupation but he was a man to be trusted to give me a notice if any equalists were on the prowl in his building.

I had to slam my body against the door to my apartment twice before it opened with a loud creak. I slammed the door shut and walked to the fridge in search of food and drink. I managed to find a new six-pack of beer and some leftover noodles. Sitting on my bumpy couch, I slurped up the noodles and downed it with a few beers. The radio gave the normal dire news of benders being captured and the police doing little to nothing about it.

The ringing of my phone made me spill a bit of my alcohol and stain my shirt. I cursed under my breath as I stood up from the couch, immediately grabbing the back of it as the room swayed about. I stayed still till the room stopped moving to stagger to the ringing phone. I didn't bother asking who it was, I was already in a bad mood from ruining my shirt. "Look, Pallal, I told you no and I meant it. Now if you could kindly grab your cock and fu-"

"It's me."

"Lin!" My face burned like it was torched by Lord Zuko's dragon. "I- uh, I haven't heard from you in a while. How've you been?" I wanted to ram my head against the wall from the forced cheer in my voice.

The line was quiet for a few moments but Lin answered. "Not good." I could hear a deep sigh from the other end. "I had a nightmare. It was nothing. I shouldn't have called. Good bye." She hung up and I stood there, staring at my phone.

I heard the raw vulnerability in her voice and it rooted me to my spot. Very few people have ever known Lin Beifong to be anything but the cool-headed Chief of Police. I finally found my wits and gently placed the phone in its holder. I glanced at the half empty beer and empty carton of noodles. I threw away the carton and poured the rest of the beer down the sink.

I left my apartment and had to use the railing to walk down the stairs to the floor level. It took too long for me to get a cab but once I did, I realized it wasn't a good idea to ask the driver to go to Lin Beifong's residence in case the driver was an equalist. It was a long shot but I wasn't willing to take any risks when it came to Lin. I apologized and exited the cab. The cab driver shared a rude gesture with his hand before driving off to find an actual patron.

It took twenty minutes to walk to Lin's house but it was enough time for me to sober a little bit. I barely looked at the extravagant house that one could expect from a Beifong. I was probably one of the only people that knew that Lin only got the estate to appease what was expected of her. She confided in me that even living in my apartment would have been more than enough.

I gave the door three quick knocks and waited outside. Now that I was actually here, my stomach clenched in nervousness and the palms of my hands were getting sweaty. I wiped them against my pants and knocked again. I could just hear Lin moving through the door and glanced down at myself. I grimaced at the beer stain on my shirt. It was too late to change into a new shirt now.

Lin opened the door and I gasped quietly at the sight of my former boss. She quirked an eyebrow at my shirt but she didn't call attention to it. I never knew her to be this tired, even when she was dealing with the onslaught of the Equalist Movement. There were dark rings around her eyes and she looked like she lost some weight.

"Have you slept at all this week?" The question was out of my mouth before I could stop it. My eyes flickered down in embarrassment but they caught the hasty bandage wrapped around her right hand. Already there was a red splotch. "What happened?" I grabbed her hand gently and flinched as Lin gave a hiss of pain.

"It is nothing." Lin removed her hand from my grip. "You shouldn't have come here. What if an equalist had attacked you?"

I gestured to the waterskin still hanging at my hip. "I would give them a hell of a fight." I nodded to the damaged hand. "Let me take care of that at least." I could see her about to argue against it. "Please, Lin."

The word 'please' did the trick, like it had done all those times I used it. Lin moved out of the doorway with a huff but didn't stop me from entering the house. I made my way to the island table and sat in one of the open chairs. Lin followed and sat on the other side, her bandaged hand held towards me. I unwrapped the gauze as gently as I can but pain was at the back of Lin's eyes. I finally took off the last layer and made a noise at the back of my throat. This injury was fresh from the looks of it. I pulled out the stopper to my waterskin and brought the water to Lin's hand. It took longer than it should have but I was able to heal the hand without much difficulty.

Once I was satisfied with my work I bent the bloody water to the sink. Lin was inspecting her hand so I grabbed her dirty bandages and carried them to the trash can.

"Wait, don't," Lin was saying but I had already pulled the top off.

Inside the trash can was bits of broken glass and a chunk of rock. I frowned down at the objects and threw away the bandages. I looked at Lin with determined eyes. "I'm staying the night. It's late and I had a few beers," I quickly added when Lin opened her mouth to most likely tell me to leave.

Lin considered her options before huffing again. "You seemed sober enough to walk here," she muttered but she didn't try to kick me out. Without saying a word, she got out of her seat and walked down the hallway where her bedroom was.

I followed Lin after refilling my waterskin. I had been in this house enough times to be familiar with the hallway and Lin's room. I could see Lin get in the bed after grabbing a book to read for a bit. It was the start of the game that we became experts at. The rules were simple. We pretend that the visit was professional even though it was anything but. The last time we played the game, Lin was my boss and I was just a low beat cop. But that never mattered once we fell into the bed together. The morning after we went back to our respective roles and pretend that nothing occurred that night, until we played the game again. Sometimes, Lin would skip that last rule altogether and kick me out of her home once we were both sated.

I pulled off my shirt, fully aware that Lin's eyes left the page she was reading to watch me. I took off my shoes and pants, leaving me in a black sports bra and matching boxers. I could see the fire in Lin's eyes and it was apparent that no sleep was going to keep her hands away from my body. I doubted that I would be able to keep my hands to myself for long either.

The bed was comfortably warm when I slipped into the covers. I plucked the book from Lin's hands and put it on the bed stand nearby. Lin looked at me disapprovingly but I ignored the look, instead pulling the older woman to me. She struggled against me for a moment but I held on. "Stop," I whispered. "Nobody is here to judge you. You're safe."

Lin gave another shift but her body relaxed against mine. I could feel her bury her face into the crook of my neck and my fingers found themselves playing with the back of her hair. I could feel the wetness of her tears seep through my hair to cool my skin. I didn't say anything, letting Lin cry quietly without disturbing her. Her next words were almost lost in my hair but I heard them regardless. "I'm not weak."

"I know you're not," I said with all the conviction I felt. I pushed her back so I could see her face. With my thumb, I wiped away a tear that fell recently. It hurt seeing her eyes so red and broken. "You're the strongest woman I know. You revamped the Republic City Police Department and keep those gangs in the shadows like the rats they are. Saikhan can never hope to be a smidge of the chief you were." I pulled her against my chest and sighed when I felt her arms wrap themselves around me, holding me as close as possible. "When we catch that fucker, I'll make him pay for everything that he did," I vowed to her.

When Lin said nothing, I took a glance down. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was steady and deep. I smiled as I brushed some of her bangs away from her closed eyes, taking in the beauty in my arms. I may never have her like I always wanted, but for this night the game was still on. And until Lin wakes up and tells me to leave, I can stay, holding her like we both know she wants to be held. By someone who truly loves her.