Warning Character Death

155AG

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Toph questioned.

"You didn't want me to become Police Chief, and now you're put out that I'm retiring. That's so you, mother."

"I want you to do what will make you happy. That's why I didn't want you to be chief; I thought you were just doing it to follow me."

"Maybe I was, but now I need my own path and a new city."

Toph knew her daughter was heartbroken after her breakup with Tenzin. She never thought her daughter would just pick up and leave. Lin never leaves.

Everyone always leaves Lin. Her father never showed up to leave. Kya left to find herself. Uncle Aang left the world. Tenzin left for another woman. Lin was sick of being left behind. It was time for her to see what was out there.

"Okay," Toph would be interim Chief until they found a new one. Lin left before the announcement.

No one saw it coming. Bumi went to her house just to see she wasn't in it. "Where's Linny?" he asked her mother.

"I don't know," Toph said honestly.

Tenzin took the news really badly. He made his choice. He chose Pema, but Lin wasn't in his life anymore at all, not even to argue with. He didn't realize how much of his life she had been, until she was gone.

160AG

"I'm so sorry," Katara said to her son. "She didn't make it." Tenzin was a single father. He wasn't the last airbender anymore, but he was without his wife.

The pregnancy had been normal at first, but five months in, they discovered Pema had a heart anomaly, one that made her pregnancy risky. She was "technically" not too far along for an abortion, but she couldn't kill her daughter. She already knew she was having a girl and she was too excited to be having a child with her love to even think about terminating her.

One month later, they found out Jinora would be an airbender and they were so happy.

"I bet she's going to look like you," Pema told Tenzin.

"She'd be better off looking like you," Tenzin retorted.

She did look like her mother, just like her. Holding her hurt.

Tenzin had water in his eyes, but the tears wouldn't fall. It wasn't fair. She didn't deserve this!

Apparently the heart problem was genetic. Hopefully, Jinora didn't have it.

"I don't know if I can do this alone."

"You're not alone," Katara promised. "You have me and your brother and sister. We'll help you."

Normally, he'd say something snarky like what help would Bumi and Kya be; they're oversized children, but right now, his mind was empty.

Out of all of the people who came to see the baby and to pray for Pema, no one expected Lin Bei Fong.

"Linny?" Bumi asked in confusion, no way is she here.

"Is Pema okay?" she didn't explain where she had been or why.

Kya shook her head. "Mom just broke the news to Tenzin. She's gone."

Lin wouldn't wish this on anyone. The normally stoic woman looked ready to cry. "Maybe coming here was a mistake." She turned to leave.

"Don't you dare walk out that door again," Kya said. "Shouldn't Tenzin at least know that you still care about him?"

"I hardly think his ex-girlfriend ranks highly on the list of people he wants to see right now."

"I can't say anyone ranks highly on that list," Tenzin said as he came out of the room. "But I am glad you're here."

"I'm so sorry."

"You didn't do this."

"I know, but I have a lot to apologize for. I'm not sure if now's the time."

"Will there ever be a good time?"

"No," Lin told him.

"Then you may as well say it now."

"Say what?" Katara asked as she came out of the room.

Toph came out. "Lin, get your sucker. He keeps pulling on my hair!"

"Aang, stop that!" Lin chastised.

She has a son? No one expected that.

Lin took Aang from his grandmother and brought him over to Tenzin. "He's an airbender," she told him.

Tenzin knew everything she meant to say. He's your son. I was pregnant when you left me. I've been raising him all by myself.

He suddenly remembered that she had been tired and pukey when they broke up. He hadn't really given that much credence since they had been arguing so much. About four weeks before she left, they had sex, angry sex, not the kind of sex that you would expect from two parents.

Everyone else was too scared to talk.

"I should have told you," she said quietly.

"I should have known." The symptoms, her being quick to leave the city, no one ever visiting her, a child was the obvious conclusion but Tenzin never bothered to try and connect the dots. He just went about his own business.

Lin moved back to Republic City. She helped Tenzin with Jinora and he got the chance to get to know his son. He looked just like his grandfather, except he had his mother's green eyes. One would have thought he was an earthbender with those eyes, but he was all air.

They didn't really talk about their breakup. It was easy to avoid it with two young children in the house. They were just so busy.

About a month after Jinora was born, however, Katara and Toph decided to take their grandbabies for the night. "I think you two need to talk," Katara said to Lin as the two elders left.

Neither of them wanted to talk. When Lin produced a bottle of sake, Tenzin said, "Thank the Spirits. Just don't tell Bumi."

"Oh I don't tell that knucklehead anything."

She poured two glasses of it.

"Where have you been all this time?" Tenzin asked.

"My half-sister started a compound. I didn't mean to find it. I kind of just stumbled there, and when I saw her, I immediately tried to leave, but she had a point. I had no where to go, no plan for my future and even if I couldn't stand her, it would be silly to stay out in the cold for no reason.

Eventually, we worked past most of our differences. We still beat each other up, but we avoid the head shots."

"Does Suyin have children?"

"She has three children, and somehow she found a guy crazy enough to marry her."

"I find the husband more surprising than the children."

"Who doesn't, the way she used to run around."

"Why did you come back?"

"Opal, Suyin's daughter, is an airbender."

Tenzin's eyes got big.

"How, we're not quite sure, but our guess is that her father is a descendant from the Air Nomads and the gene popped up. Anyway, she wants a teacher, but Suyin is kind of well a worrywart and doesn't want her going anywhere. She is like opposite of Toph when it comes to parenting.

Anyway, there's only one teacher, so I went to find you, and I brought Aang with me because he should have known you from the beginning."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was in denial. I told myself the vomiting was bad noodles, stress, anything but a baby. Eventually, I went to the doctor and I knew for sure. I was afraid that if I told you, then you'd come back just because I was pregnant, all of our other problems would still be there, and we'd raise a miserable child.

This is going to sound stupid, but I wanted you to come after me. It was the only way I could know if you really wanted to give us a second chance. When you didn't, I told myself it was for the best, and I didn't look back until I had to."

"I didn't realize how much I'd miss you until you just disappeared. We've been friends our whole lives, and I forgot how much that meant to me. I just got lost in all the arguing."

"Me too."

"What do we do now?"

"I don't know."

They had too much sake to talk about their future anymore.

He put his arm around her. The first time he had done this in five years.

She buried her head in his shoulder.

He couldn't help but think this is where Lin belonged.

They were asleep on the floor when Katara and Toph cmae back the next day with their children.

"They made it through the sake," Toph remarked as she picked the empty bottle on the floor. "They just spared us the trouble of making another grandchild."

Katara rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous."

"You know it Suga.'"

They woke up minutes later.

Tenzin's head was killing him. "I haven't felt this pain in years."

"When's the last time you drank this much?" his mother asked.

"When I thought Lin was never coming back."

He and Pema almost broke up over that. She thought he was still in love with her. He was, but he couldn't lose Pema too. He had been so selfish. If he hadn't been, maybe she'd still be here.

"I'm not going away again," Lin told him.

"If you do, I'll chase you until I find you."

162AG

Tenzin and Lin got married in a private ceremony at Zaofu. He thought he was just coming to give Opal another airbending lesson, but their families surprised them with a wedding, arranging the decorations, food, and entertainment

"It's about time!" Toph sassed at them as they walked down the aisle.

In six weeks, Lin would find out she was pregnant, again. Nine months later, they would have their third child, Pema.