Even heroes have nightmares and PTSD .

The night was late. The clouds were dark and a storm was coming. The citizens of the new founded city were all sleeping, except for the few light sleepers. Some tea shops were still open but most of them were long closed.

The rain started, making small "thuds" against the roof of the buildings. It was calming. But soon, thunder came and the smooth sound became a raging noise against the windows of the small apartment the three ladies shared. The Beifong were all asleep. Except one.

Lin slept in a separate room. Her mother was adamant. She was old enough to be in her own bedroom. She was scared at first, alone in that big room, but mom said she was going to get used to it. Like everything else. And so, Lin did. With time, the room became her own and she felt safe.

The thunder was approaching and lighting lit the sky. Lin was scared. The shadows followed the lightings, growing and shrinking. Lin knew better then to wake her mother up in the middle of the night for "some storm" and so, she stayed in her bed. She would get used to this fear too. She pulled her sheets over her head and waited for the storm to pass. Eventually, it didn't work, so she went under her bed. There she felt safe.

Suyin was three years old. She slept in her tiny bed next to Lin's bed. She was fast asleep. That kid was always sleeping, like a rock. And nothing in the world woke her up. Lin, who cared for her sister most of the time, needed all her efforts to wake her up. So, Su didn't notice at all her sister or the event to come. It was Lin who'd woke her up later that same night.

Toph was in the other room. She didn't hear the thunder or perceive poor Lin shaking in her bed. She was somewhere else. Her dreams were deep and they didn't all too enjoyable. In fact, it was a nightmare.

The thunder had transformed her normal dream into the battlefield from twenty something years ago.

…

She was hanging in the emptiness. The only thing she saw was Sokka, holding her. She had to guess what was happening for her feet were dangling in the air. Sokka had just put out two guys. Boomerang was gone and his space sword presumably thrown at the other guy who grunted. Her hand was sweaty and she was losing her grip. Sokka was stronger and holding on was easier for him. But at some point he too, started to lose his strength. There was so much he could do to save them both.

"Bye, space sword."

Under her, there were occasional explosions and she could hear the metal being torn apart as the ships crashed into each other. She could feel the heat from the fire. The Fire Lord was burning everything on his way up to the earth kingdom.

Toph heard movement of the deck not five feet away from their position.

She couldn't feel her hand anymore; the blood had rushed out of it as Sokka hand grasped her wrist with determination. He wasn't going to let go. Her hand numb, she didn't see anymore. She knew she was still holding on but for how long.

"I don't think boomerang's coming back Toph, it looks like this is the end" said Sokka.

She let tears go. It was the end. She was twelve years old, had teach the Avatar and fought alongside his group. She had accomplished her destiny. But still.

She felt sacred. Real scared. For one of those few moments, she admitted, even to herself, how helpless she was. She wasn't pulling her own weight, far from it. She was a burden to Sokka. He had protected her on their entire mission since she couldn't see outside the ship they were on.

Sokka had always been the only one she allowed to help her with her disability. He was the one that carried her when her feet got burned by Zuko. Even now, he was the one that shielded her from the metal scraps falling from the sky. Even though she knew Suki and him were a thing, she couldn't denied her feelings for him. He saw her as a sister and protected her as such, but she saw him like something more. She didn't tell him because she didn't want to mess with his relationship. She put a strong façade for both their happiness.

As the end came near, she felt her meteorite bracelet shiver on her arm. Yes she was feeling very emotional and it was legitimate.

Sokka let go of his grip as he cheered, not telling Toph they were saved. Idiot. From her point of view, they were falling to their doom. She didn't know Suki was just under them with her own ship.

…

And with that she woke up. The thunder made her jumpy and as a reflex, she bended the earth under her. The floor of the apartment started to roar. She was half-asleep, scared and about to destroy a building because of some stupid dream.

It was Lin's screams that really woke her up. She put her foot on the ground to fell were the kids were and why her oldest had shouted. She was startled. The floor was a mess. There was a fissure in front of her bed and she was cover in cool sweat.

"It was just a stupid dream." She murmured to herself. She was a fool, so scaredy-cat for some thunder.

"Mom! Mom! There's an earthquake!" Lin yield from across her room. She was so afraid. She was unable to move. She was curled up under her bed, with Suyin, to keep her young sister safe.

Toph stood up; she made her way to her daughter's room.

"It's just me, Lin. I earthbended. Go back to sleep girls." She wasn't good at that kind of speech. Lin didn't get out from under her hiding place.

"Are you sure, it was pretty strong." Said young Suyin.

"Silly question, kiddo. I'm the strongest earthbender. Get out of there, it no place for kids to sleep."

Lin saw her mom, she was tensed. It didn't reassure her. Suyin stayed silently, no sure of what was happening. The toddler was confuse, not scared.

Lin did as asked because she knew her mom's character. She sat on her bed and help Su do the same. She was still confused and Toph could feel she was still frightened.

Toph's heart was pounding in her ears. It didn't show because of the darkness, but nevertheless, her dream had shaken some old fears and memories. The thunder was growing louder and louder and its sound brought echoes and "images" of her past to her sleepy mind. It kept coming to her mind. She wasn't going back to sleep tonight. She even had an anxious look.

"Mom, are you alright?" said Lin. She pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Mom isn't late to practice your bending. It's the middle of the night." Su was still so young.

"Yes pipsqueak. It is."

"Did you have a nightmare?" said innocent Su.

Yes, she did have a nightmare. But she was going to tell her 3 years old girl about some battles scares. Every now and then, she had that nightmare. It was haunting her. And when she thought she got rid of it, it came back, lurking in the shadows of her past. She hadn't told Katara or the rest of the group about it. They had all nightmares. It was the burden of being heroes. She wasn't going to bother them with hers.

"Yeah, I did" she admitted. There was no use to lying.

"Would like me to read you a story, that's what parents do when kids have nightmares." Lin didn't even ask what it was about. She just jumped on the occasion and helped her mom feel better.

Toph didn't read stories to her kids nor did she tell stories at all to comfort them. It was all about her presence that helped Lin and Su. She was always confident. Lin was so different in many ways from her. She was more sensitive than her. It baffled her, and sometime, she asked herself from whom was she taking it. She didn't take offense to her comment about other parents. She already had explained to Lin and Su that she was blind and that even if she got around without help, she was still blind.

"Yeah, sure, let hear it."

And Lin started to read some newspaper's article about the city's hero of the day, "Toph Beifong, Chief of Police and the arrest of the Red Monsoon triad's leader". Toph smiled in the dim light Lin had lit to read and it didn't go unnoticed.

The all sat in Lin's bed. One girl on each side of her, Toph listened. She didn't really pay attention to what her daughter was reading. Someone had read it for her during the day. She listened to her voice instead and let it carry her into a peaceful place. The storm passed and Toph finally relaxed. Only the rain remained. She moved carefully not to wake up her girls and went back to her room. The light stayed on because Toph didn't think about that kind of things.

In her room, she bended slowly the floor back to normal and went back to sleep. She closed her eyes and had a quiet night.

R&R