"Oh, morning Aang. Yes, she will definitely be there today. Um, I'm not sure what time, she's still asleep. Yeah, Toph's been sleeping a lot lately. It's good for her though. She needs the rest. Ok, ok, I'll let her know. Thanks, Aang." Sokka hung up the phone. He had been up for hours already. He had bathed, eaten breakfast, and gotten dressed. He was ready for the day. However, it was already 10 am and Toph was still asleep. He knew she needed the rest and they did use up quite a bit of energy the night before. He blushed a little and cleared his throat. He walked over to her side of the bed and sat next to her. She was facing him and he could see the slow rise and fall of the blanket that she was covered in. He gently cupped her face.
"Good morning." he softly said. He leaned in closer and gave her a small kiss. He put her hand on her lower back and slowly moved his hand in a circle. Her saw her eyelids twitch.
"Good morning, Toph! He excitedly whispered. She made a somewhat annoyed grunt and covered her face with her blanket. "Aw, come on, it's time to get up! It's time to start the day." Sokka started to pull the blanket off of her when Toph angrily yanked it back.
"I'll go make some tea, and then we'll get up. How does that sound?" Sokka tried to bargain with her. Toph said noting and closed her eyes. Sokka left for the kitchen.
About twenty minutes later, he returned with a steaming cup of tea.
"Here it is, but be careful. It's extremely hot." He placed it down on the bedside table and sat down next to her. Toph struggled to sit up and Sokka placed his hand underneath her body to help her up.
"I did not appreciate being woken up this morning." Toph said angrily. Sokka sighed.
"I'm sorry, toph, but I had too. I already kind of promised Aang that we'd be at the station today for your last day and it's already almost 11:30 in the morning. It's almost lunchtime." he shrugged.
"Where's my tea?" Toph softly asked. Sokka handed her the cup gently. Toph sipped slowly and let out a sigh. She placed the tea back onto her bedside table.
"How are you feeling this morning?" Sokka asked. He truly felt bad for waking her.
"I feel…" Toph paused, "Not great." Toph winced. "My back really hurts." She moved her hand and rubbed her lower back. She grimaced and took in a few deep breaths. "I feel really sore down there." She rubbed her hip and lower stomach. Toph tilted her head at Sokka.
"You think it was me? Toph, I'm so sorry, but you really gave me no choice last night!" he laughed. "Sorry, I shouldn't laugh." He rubbed Toph's arm. "How about you drink some of your tea and I'll make you some breakfast. Then we'll take a quick trip to the station, then we can come back home and lay in bed all day!" he smiled and handed her the cup of tea. He quickly left the room and headed for the kitchen once more.
Toph decided she wasn't even going to put up a fight. She just wanted this speech to be over with. She sipped her tea and sat in silence.
Soon, Sokka came back into the room. "Toph, breakfast is ready." Toph turned towards Sokka and set her empty cup on the table. She stretched her arms out to him signifying that she wanted him to help her. He walked over to help her stand up
"Oh!" she cried out.
"What's wrong?" Sokka asked.
"My hips are so sore. I think it's from last night. I haven't moved like that in ages." She gave Sokka a slight squeeze. She and Sokka waddled to the kitchen and sat down at the table. Sokka made Toph some nice, hot oatmeal.
"Thank you for breakfast, Sokka." Toph said happily as she slurped it down.
After breakfast, Toph went to get dressed. She waddled back to her room and collapsed on the bed. Toph really didn't want to go, but she was going to anyway.
"Sokka!" she yelled from the bedroom. He came bouncing in the room.
"Yes?"
"I need you to help me get dressed. I just can't do it today." She leaned on her arms behind her. Sokka nodded.
"What do you want to wear today?"
"A loose shirt and the loosest pants you can find." she replied.
Sokka dug around for a minute until he pulled out a long, loose black tunic and a loose pair of brown pants.
"You're not going to wear your chief uniform?"
"You think it will fit over all of this?" Toph scoffed as she motioned to her middle. "No, Sokka, it doesn't fit." She crossed her arms. "I'm too big." she added as a last part.
Sokka decided not to say anything. He didn't want to make it worse. He helped her pull her shirt over her head and then with her pants and shoes. She pinned her hair up in a bun and placed her Chief badge in the center of her headband.
"Well, you look fantastic and comfy." Sokka told her. Toph rolled her eyes. "Let's just go.
Sokka and Toph were standing at the bottom of the stairs to Toph's apartment when she suddenly stopped him after realizing what she was about to do.
'"Sokka, I need you to call a taxi. I can't walk all the way to the station like I normally do." She pleaded.
"Ok, I'll go call one to pick us up." Sokka turned on his heel and raced up the steps. Toph leaned on a small rock wall jetting out from the side of the stairs. She had both of her hands on her lower back.
'This is almost over. I can make it.' she told herself. Suddenly she felt a tightening in her lower stomach. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable. She placed a hand there and slowly rubbed the area.
"Ok, the taxi is on its way." Sokka announced as he came walking down the stairs. He noticed the look on Toph's face.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
"Huh?" She looked up. "Um, yeah, I'm fine." She let out another sigh. They waited for a few minutes in silence.
"So, are you excited to see the station and your police force? What are you going to tell them?"
"well, um-", but before Toph could finish her sentence, the taxt pulled up. They both got in and drove off towards the station.
When the taxi arrived at their destiniation, the two got out and slowly made their way up the flight of stairs to the entrance of the building. Toph was cursing under her breath with each step she took. Finally they reached the top.
"Boy…I don't remember…those steps being…so difficult." Toph panted a she caught her breath.
"Toph, I need you to wait here for a minute." Sokka said excitedly.
"Wait, what?"
"Just for a minute! I'll be right back!" Sokka ran up to the door and slipped inside. He came back out moments later.
"Ok, let's head in now." Toph gave him a funny look, but held onto him as they walked forward. She didn't really know what to feel. Toph had very mixed feelings about the police station right now. On one hand, it was her job, the place she went to nearly everyday and slaved away to try to fix the city's problems. It was also the place where her friends were and where she felt like she belonged. On the other hand, the last time she was here, it was just before the incident of the Triple Threat Triad, and she still hadn't fully recovered from that night.
Sokka opened the door and they heard a large group of people yell, "SURPRISE!"
"Happy last day, Toph!" Sokka cheered. He walked her inside. "This is why I was so insistent that you came today. We put on this whole party for you!"
With all of these people here waiting for her, Toph suddenly felt very embarrassed. She stood there with very red cheeks and slightly stepped behind Sokka. Although she couldn't see it, the whole room was filled with balloons and decorations. There was a table on the far left also packed with food.
"Surprise Toph! Aang said as he stepped closer. "How are you? Are you surprised?" Toph placed a hand on her lower back and grimaced.
"I-I think I just really need to sit down." She suddenly felt a tightness in her chest.
"Oh, sure!" Toph took Sokka's arm as he guided her toward a nearby table. "Here you go. I'll go get you some water too." Aang had walked over with them and sat next to Toph.
"I'm glad you could make it. Sokka was so worried that you'd miss your own party." he laughed. "How are you today?"
"Very pregnant." She said sternly. She slumped her head on the table.
"Ah, I understand why. I'm sorry you're not feeling well. We just wanted to show you how much we appreciate you."
Meanwhile at the food table across the room, Katara was talking to Sokka.
"I mean, I'm glad you to made it, but I can't believe you dragged her all the way up here! Look at how uncomfortable she looks." Katara told him honestly. She was right. Everyone else at the party had already had a couple of frinks and were laughing and eating while Toph sat with her forehead resting on the table. Sokka frowned. He took a cup of water and hurried it over to her. "Toph, I'm so sorry I made you come all the way out to the station. That was very selfish of me. I just wanted you to feel some peace of mind and know that everything was going to be ok!" Sokka cried out. He sat next to her feeling so ashamed. Toph was taken a back. She felt guilty for being in such a bad mood. She turned towards him and placed her hand on top of his.
"Sokka, I know. And thank you. " she said gently. "I appreciate what you've done for me." She gave him a small kiss. Sokka sighed.
"Do you want me to take you home? I know you said your back was really hurting." he asked. Toph paused and waited for a moment.
"No, let's stay for a while. We're already here." she shrugged and smiled.
It took her a little while, but Toph eventually warmed up to the party. She was even seen cracking jokes with a couple of the other officers.
"Hey, Toph?" Aang whispered in her ear. "Are you ready to make the announcement?"
She felt her heart begin to beat faster. "Sure, ok." she finally said.
"Excuse me, everyone!" Aang said aloud. "I'd firstly like to thank everyone for coming today. It's so nice to know that we like each other enough to have a giant party." he got a few laughs from the crowd. "I'd secondly like to give the floor to our very own Chief of Police, Chief Beifong for a special announcement." Everyone cheered and clapped their hands. Toph stood up from her chair. Sokka stood right by her.
"Hello everyone. Yes, thank you so much for coming. I would have been here sooner if I had known what was waiting for me. It's so nice to see you all and-" Toph paused as she started to tear up. Sokka put his hand around her shoulder."Oh, gosh." she continued as she wiped her eyes. There were a few sympathetic laughs from the audience. "Um, I just wanted to say that I really appreciated everyone's help with the Triple Threat triad. I know it was a really scary time for us all, including myself," she stopped for a moment. Everyone had very serious faces. Toph put her hand on top of her stomach for comfort. Sokka squeezed her shoulder.
"I mean, I'm ok now, but it was one of the toughest experiences of my life." She felt herself slowly fading and the tightness in her chest came back. She subconsciously hugged her large stomach.
"Toph, are you alright?" Sokka whispered to her. His voice brought her back into the present. She shook her head and took a deep breath.
"Yes, anyway as you all know, I'm having a baby, and I've decided along with Avatar Aang, to place Commander Zei in my position while I am away on temporary leave." She smiled. "We believe he will be the best replacement and keep this place in tip top shape."
"Come on up, Zei!" Sokka yelled. Commander Zei stepped forward and over to Toph.
"Chief." he nodded at her. He turned toward the crowd. "Thank you everyone! I'm very excited to keep this place running in full form, but as Sokka told me, I've got big shoes to fill." The crowd laughed and cheered.
"Alright, now let's party!" Sokka yelled. Some one turned on the radio and the police force began a conga line. Sokka cracked up and hugged Toph.
"See what you would have missed?" He kissed her.
"Oh, gosh I need a drink!" she laughed along with him.
A little while later they were in Chief Beifong's office.
"Now, Chief if you'll just sign here. It says that you'll relinquish all right to Commander Zei while in your absence yada yada.." a woman told her. She guided Toph's hand to the line where she would sign. Toph scribbled something like her name, but not really caring. After all of the paperwork was signed, the woman left the room leaving the Chief and Commander alone.
"Chief, really, thank you so much. I will do my best to take care of this place." Zei told her.
"Well, you've proved yourself so you've got no reason to thank me." she replied back.
"I'm also glad you're safe and healthy. After the incident, we were really worried about you." Toph nodded, but then suddenly grabbed her stomach.
"Ah!" she leaned forward and grit her teeth. Her face slightly twisted when her stomach felt extremely tight all of the sudden.
"Chief, are you ok?" Zei said very worriedly. Toph sat there for about thirty seconds and held onto her stomach.
"Would you go Sokka for me?" she finally said relaxing a little.
"Yes, I'll be right back!" he quickly ran out of the room. Toph leaned back in her chair. 'Hmm' She thought to herself.
A little while later, the Commander and Sokka came into the room.
"Toph?" Sokka called out to her. "Do you need something?" He kneeled down in front of her chair. She took his hand.
"Sokka, I came to the party, I talked with people, I gave my speech, but now I really want to go home and lay down." She was almost begging him.
"Toph, of course! We'll go home right now. I'll call a taxi to come pick us up." He brushed some of her hair out of her face. "I'm sorry for keeping you out this long." He stood and turned to Commander Zei. "Thank you Commander Zei. You are excused and I'll hopefully see you in a few days. Call me if you need anything." He saluted him.
"Thank you, Sokka, and thank you Chief."Zei saluted them back and then left the room. Sokka picked up the phone and called for a taxi service.
"Ready?" he asked Toph. She nodded and struggled to stand. Sokka put her arm under her and pulled her up to a standing position. She leaned on him as she waddled over to the door.
"I'd like to ask Katara a question before we leave." Toph told Sokka.
"Oh, she and Aang actually already went home. Something about their babysitter had to leave."
"Oh, I guess I can call her when we get home. What time is it?"
"It's about 4:30."
When they got downstairs by the doorway, they waved goodbye to everyone at the party. People said goodbye and wished them luck. Then they opened the door.
"Ah, man, I've got to walk down this flight of stairs?"
"I'll hold you up. We'll do it together." Sokka held on tight to her body and they took it one stair at a time. Even though Toph could sense every stair through her seismic, she still felt like she was a clumsy mess. When they reached the bottom, the taxi was there waiting for them. They hoped inside and the taxi drove off to their home.
