Notes: Everyone's getting sick and tired of these notes…

Okay so back to business. Remember there are going to be 23 chapters. Or actually 24+. I can't think of much else to say other than review when you're finished reading. It's not that hard really. Tell me what you think of this chapter and of where this story is headed. Also, in your review rate this chapter from 1 to 5 stars.

Oh wait, I do have something to say. It's a question for the readers, do you think I've ruined the story by adding Joy and Haana's stories to it? Because in the final chapters I left no room for their stories. They were SUPPOSED to be MINOR characters. And now my fans are telling me that they want to now MORE? Are you sure?

Well, here it is. Sorry all you guys are really busy with school. :(

Warning! Contains overwhelming amounts of fluff and Tokka! You may not be able to take it! You've been warned.


Toph stood next to Aang as the villagers huddled around in a circle. Some people were pointing, some were murmuring to each other, and the children were laughing and playing, paying no attention to the visitor. Except of course for Yue, Sokka's eldest daughter, who huddled near her mother.

"Is this really where you guys decided to live?" Toph said, "It's so…cold. And I can't see very well with all this snow."

Of course she meant 'see' as in using earth bending to sense vibrations. Aang realized how difficult it must be to hear vibrations in the snow. But apparently she was quickly growing used to it as she heard Katara coming.

"Toph!" Katara said excitedly, "You've finally come to visit the South Pole after all."

Toph hugged her, but then quickly took a few steps back.

"Toph?"

She said nothing, and came closer.

"Katara, your heartbeat…" She trailed off.

"Toph…" Katara began. Toph's expression changed from worry to a broad smile.

"Katara, are you…"

"Yes."

"That's great!" Toph yelled, "Where's Aang so I can congratulate him? I knew you guys would have a family sooner or later. Good thing I came when I did."

"I'm right here Toph." Aang said, "You haven't changed a bit have you?"

"Yup, I can still kick your butt with two hands tied behind my back."

"Yup, same old Toph." Aang laughed.

Sokka pushed his way through the crowd of villagers gawking at Toph.

"Toph!"

"Sokka!"

They hugged. Katara wiped tears out of her eyes. She just couldn't help it, it was too much to see such a happy reunion. Great, I'm crying again! It's these stupid hormones!

"You and Suki been busy while I was away?" Toph asked Sokka sarcastically. He laughed.


Once everyone had gotten settled down and the villagers had all dispersed to their daily routines, (it took a while as the South Pole didn't exactly get many visitors) the Gaang took the time to get reacquainted. Aang told Toph about what had happened when he had left for the Fire Nation. At first she thought it was some sort of joke they were playing on her, but as the story went on her face became more serious. At the end of the story she just shook her head.

"I've heard of some strange things happening in the Earth Kingdom too. Something about a ghost dog. I thought it was just some prank some teenagers did to get attention, because the word spread all the way to Ba Sing Se. But now that you've told me this..."

On a lighter note, Toph then told them about how she had been spending more time with her parents because they needed the company, although they still didn't see eye to eye. She told that that her school was going very well, two or three students showed great promise and she was working them especially hard to bring out their talents in earth bending.

"I guess they're happy you're gone." Sokka joked, Toph punched his arm playfully.

"So Toph," Katara began, "Is there, you know…somebody special we should know about?"

Toph blushed immediately and Sokka made sure to point this out.

"Look! She's blushing! Come on Toph tell us!"

"No." Was all that she answered.

"Oh come on! You're twenty-seven years old! There has to be someone…"

"Are you saying that I need a man?" Toph snapped.

"I'm only saying that it's time to settle down and-"

"Maybe I don't want to be like you and Suki raising a bunch of kids and breeding like mice!" She yelled, and stomped off to her tent. They all watched her go inside. Sokka was shocked at her sudden rage.

"Someone's got PMS…" He whispered. Aang snorted and Katara looked at him and Sokka angrily. They shrugged.

"Don't think I didn't hear that!" Toph yelled from her tent. Aang snickered.

They were quiet for a little as they waited for further response from Toph, but she kept quiet.

"What's up with her? She didn't have to bite off my head like that… That was just vicious." Sokka stated.

"Maybe she's just tired from her long trip." Katara suggested, "She was on a boat for a long time, and you know how much she hates the water…"

"I haven't seen someone that grumpy since Suki had her morning sickness with the twins. Now she was crotchety, I told one lame joke and she nearly ripped my head off."

Katara gasped. Aang and Sokka both looked at her for a tense moment and then laughed.

"Naah!"

"Let's just give her some rest today," Aang said, "She's probably tired from her journey here and needs some rest."


As Katara and Aang went to teach the young water benders, Katara wondered what was wrong with Toph. She had been a little edgy, and what she said to Sokka had been uncalled for. Maybe there was something else bothering her, something emotional that she didn't want to share with anyone. Katara knew how Toph had a habit of keeping all her feelings bottled inside. She knew that she had done this as a child. She could hardly remember a time (except for a choice few) that Toph had ever shared her inner feelings with anyone.

Katara gasped at what she saw. Joy was in an octopus formation. She usually never participated in such exercises, but today she looked almost…angry. Zak was the best young water bender in the village, outshining all the other boys with his talent, but apparently he was no match for Joy. She held him high in the air with one of the tentacles, which was very powerful water bending indeed.

"JOY! THAT"S ENOUGH! LET HIM DOWN!" Aang cried. Joy let go and Zak fell to the snow. He scrambled over to Aang and Katara.

"She's…She's…She's gone insane!" He yelled, and ran off towards the village.

"Why did you do that?" Katara asked, but Joy simply ran past her.

"What is it with angry women today?" Aang asked seriously.

I don't know, Katara thought, but I'm going to find out.

"Aang, can you teach the water benders alone today? I need to do a few errands." She asked.

"Sure Katara." Aang replied, "What sort of errands?"

"Just some stuff, you know, some loose ends." She replied as she made her way in the direction Joy had run in.

Katara decided to go to Joy first, since her problems would most likely be the easiest to remedy as she was only a young girl. Toph, on the other hand, probably needed a good talking to. At least that as what she thought.

Katara found Joy in her tent lying in her hammock. She was crying uncontrollably and paid no attention to Katara as she entered. Katara stood there, trying to figure out what the right thing to say would be. Children were delicate in these matters, that she knew for a fact.

"Joy, do you want to talk?" Katara asked soothingly, Joy didn't so much as move. "Joy please, you can talk to me, it's okay. Whatever's bothering you-"

"I asked Zak if he would go on a date with me sometime," she mumbled, "and he said I was too weird, and that he's seeing someone else. May…" May was a girl whom Joy was always fighting with for one reason or another. Girls will be girls.

"That's no reason to hang him up in the air Joy."

"That's not the problem, Katara."

Katara was taken aback.

"Then what is?"

She sighed.

"I wish I could tell you Katara, but I can't."

"What do you mean you can't? Of course you can. It's me, Katara. You can tell me anything."

"It's…" she trailed off as if she were contemplating whether or not to finish the sentence, "My mother."

Katara had nothing to say to this. All she knew was that Haana was the only relative of Joy's who came to the South Pole during the move. She had figured that…maybe her mother had left or had died. Maybe her father had been a nonexistent character in her life. It would certainly explain many things.

"She's dead." Joy continued, "And I…I'm not sure what's real or what's lies anymore."

"I don't understand." Katara answered.

"I told you that you wouldn't."

She misses her mother, Katara thought, what can I do about that?

"If it makes you feel any better," I'm gonna regret saying this aren't I? "I kinda always thought of you as…a daughter."

Joy looked up. Her eyes were watery and red rimmed, but her face was cheerful.

"You…you mean it?" She choked.

Katara nodded, not knowing what else to say in this predicament.

Joy hugged her.

My work here is done, so all I have now is to find out what's wrong with Toph. Easier said than done of course, she never tells anyone what she's feeling. I was hoping her arrival would take Aang's mind of his nightmares, and now look at me! Why do I always end up cleaning up the mess left over when someone's feelings are hurt?

Katara made her way over to Toph's tent. She didn't enter.

"Toph? Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Come in." Toph mumbled.

Katara entered the tent. There was Toph, sitting on the ground with her legs crossed, like she was meditating or something. Before Katara could even speak, Toph said,

"I'm sorry."

"What?" Katara said, surprised at Toph's sudden outburst.

"I'm…sorry. Can't you hear?"

"I heard you, I just didn't think you could say that."

Toph smiled.

"I know, I can barely believe it myself." She said.

They were quiet for a time, until Toph finally broke the silence, which had hung over them like a cloud.

"You know, I didn't mean those things I said to Sokka. The truth is, I wish I could be like him. Settle down, have a family… That's what all of you guys did."

"Then why don't you?"

"I just…can't. I even lied about my parents Katara, I haven't seen them in two years."

"What? But you said-"

"I lied. I wanted you guys to think I was happy."

"Aren't you?"

"No Katara. I'm not," Toph took a deep breath, "Can I tell you something I've never told anyone?"

"Sure." Katara said, if Toph was giving a rare opportunity to share her feelings, who was she to say no? This was the opportunity of a lifetime! So Toph is finally opening up…

"When we were young…I…had a crush on Sokka. I never told him…" Her cheeks turned red, "And…well…after he married Suki it was kind of…hard for me to keep my feelings inside like that. I knew Sokka would never love me, he loves Suki and she loves him back. I just…feel like I can't move on. All I have is earth bending. What does earth bending give me back? Face it, I'm meant to be alone. I can't even show my face in my parent's house. Their only daughter."

Katara was shocked at what Toph had said. She had never imagined anything like this in her wildest dreams. Toph, liking Sokka?

"Toph…"

"Just forget it Katara. It's all over now. The only reason I came here to visit you was so I wouldn't feel so lonely, so I wouldn't feel like no one loved me. I've missed the good times Katara."

"What good times? You don't mean the war?"

"Sometimes I wish it were still raging. I know that's such a cruel thing to say, but I can't help it. I wish I wasn't just…alone…doing nothing."

"Maybe you should go back to visit your parents." Katara suggested.

"I…would they even want to see me?"

"Of course they would Toph, you're their daughter. They love you."

Toph's eyes began to water, just a little bit, but she quickly brushed the tears away and said sternly,

"You'd better not tell Aang or Sokka any of this."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Katara fell asleep that night happy, happy about being able to make Joy feel better, and happy about being able to get Toph to actually talk about her emotions. All was well. Toph had apologized for her actions, and she and Sokka even made jokes together for the rest of the day, for Katara, it was a good day.

Meanwhile…

Haana looked angrily at her sister through the disk of water she was levitating in front of her.

"We can never tell her Laana. She can't know that her mother was…involved…with a member of the Orchid. She's too young to be worrying about such things."

"Forbidden love… Has she talked to you?"

"No, but she's a child, she'll get over it. "

"You underestimate her, sister. Sooner or later she will find out the truth. And she'll blame you for keeping it from her."


Notes: So, I had to write this chapter rather quickly I admit, but I hope it was at least entertaining. I want to make a special thanks to Summer Sweetheart, for being a pal and reader even though she has a lot of community college work to do. This chapter's for you!