Day 3 - Illness

"Sokka!" Toph exclaimed, sounding very concerned. Sokka immediately woke up, and knew that her distress was probably warranted, considering she never was in distress. He jumped up from the bed, running toward her voice. He ended up in Lin's room.

"What? What is it?" Sokka nearly yelled. Toph was holding her year old child in her arms, her eyes wide as saucers.

"It's Lin! She's warm, and coughing and her nose is wet," Toph said nervously. Sokka came over and touched the infant's forehead.

"Yeah, she has a fever. She must have what Tenzin has," he concluded.

He cared deeply for the child, although she was not his. Toph and he had been together since she was a few weeks old and Lin's father left. They had gotten married a few weeks ago and were trying to work out kinks in the new lifestyle.

"What do I do? I've never even been sick! How do I know what to do with her?" Toph raced. Her head was spinning with possibilities of worst case scenarios. Sokka would have laughed at how vulnerable she was if he wasn't concerned as well.

"Well, we'll just take her to the doctor later today. That's about all we can do at the moment except make her as comfortable as possible. Maybe we can see Katara and have her do the water steam she was doing with Tenzin." He tried to give her options to think about other than the fact that her daughter was sick.

"Oh, hell no! SHe picked this up from them. She's not going over there just so she could get more sick. We'll take her to the doctor, but that's it!" Toph claimed. Sokka laughed and kissed her forehead.

"Okay, Toph. Whatever you think is best."

"So, according to the doctor, she should take it easy. We need to give her some more cough syrup in an hour," Sokka reminded Toph as they walked into their house. "Maybe you should put her down for a nap. She looks tired."

"Yeah. Maybe that's a good idea. I swear, I hate this. There is something wrong with this world where people get sick. Especially her!" Sokka could tell Toph was more stressed with this than anything. Toph had been put in very stressful situations, given the nature of her job, but for some reason, this was way harder on her.

"You know, it's healthy for babies to get a little case of illnesses every once in a while. It gives their bodies something to fight so they can get stronger," Sokka explained as they walked up the stairs to the bedrooms. He was trying to put a positive spin on this for her.

"Well, she's strong enough! She's got me as a mom," Toph spat. She was not happy. Sokka laughed at her protectiveness.

"Okay, Toph. I'm going to wash up then maybe make us some dinner," he said giving her a kiss then retreating to their bedroom. Toph nodded as she went to Lin's room.

Sokka normally didn't bathe at this odd time, but he really wanted to give Toph some space with her kid. He walked into the bathroom and did his usual routine.

After about twenty minutes, he stepped out of the bathroom feeling like a whole new person. Normally, the house was quiet unless he and Toph were talking or Lin was putting up a fuss - but not this time. He heard something… melodic. He followed the sound down the hallway.

The sight was very beautiful. Toph was sitting in a rocking chair, holding a sleepy looking Lin and humming a tune. It sounded a lot like the one Katara sang to her kids. Sokka leaned against the doorway and just watched for a moment. He really didn't want to interfere with the almost perfect sight.

"I know you're there," Toph said with a sigh. Sokka stood up a little straighter.

"I figured," Sokka replied. "That was really cute by the way."

"Don't get used to it." Sokka chuckled. same old Toph he's known for practically forever. She got up and walked toward Lin's crib and gently put her into it, but she didn't leave. Instead, she listened with her very good ears to Lin's steady breathing. Sokka walked up and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

"You're a great mom." Toph turned into the embrace and accepted it with open arms.

"I better be, because there is something I need to tell you," Toph said hesitantly. Sokka pulled away to look at her face.

"I'm pregnant."