My dearest readers, I am terribly sorry about the shortness of the last chapter. I didn't mean it at all. I just...ran out of steam. But hopefully this chapter it won't happen again. Also, NONE of you listened when I told you not to read my other story. So I guess that last chapter was punishment. But no matter, I forgive you. Also, what do you think I should do with Onji?

Aang moved slowly, trying not to upset his stomach, and trying not to hurt his ribs. He gave up, and sat on the edge of the bed. He didn't want to have to call in a nurse to escort him to the bathroom that was only five feet away. Aang took a careful breath, and stood for the first time in days. He wobbled at first, but hung onto the bed until he was sure of himself. He crossed the cool, tile floor to the private bathroom, thankful they installed metal bars to help patients in and out of the shower. The nurse told him he was welcome to shower, but to ask for assistance and use a walker. It would take weeks for his ribs to heal and weeks after that for the soreness to subside. Not to mention the tons upon tons of tests and medication they were giving him for his head. Aang grabbed the clean clothes from the sink top and stepped into the shower. He'd once read that the majority of people don't spend their time in the shower...showering. They think and reflect, plan, sing, everything except what they got in there to do. Maybe because the water was so soothing. Maybe because it was a private place. Like an oasis from the outside world.

Aang stepped slowly into his own little oasis and turned on the hot water. He let the events of the past week flow into his mind. After embarassingly puking in front of Onji, he finally got her to leave. She knew the truth, but she wouldn't accept it. He was confused as to why in the world she'd try to kiss him when he said he was in love with someone else. She thought Toph would get over it. Aang wondered how long Toph has harbored those feelings, and felt even more guilty. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve having her feelings thrown back into her face because of Onji. Why had Onji been so upset? He told her the full truth from what seemed like months of lying to her. So why did she say it wasn't true? Were they really so mismatched that the mere thought of something more than friendship was laughable? If Aang hadn't been in so much pain, he would have been offended.

His girlfriend of all people, didn't believe him. He shook his head in disbelief. Why was it impossible? He could love her, and he'd prove it! He'd love Toph like there was no tomorrow. He'd show all the doubters how much two people who were exact opposites could be together. Aang got out of the shower and started the agonizing process of getting dressed. He didn't realize how much his body had gone through in the past week. He hated Azula for putting his family through this...or what was left of it. Toph had been taking care of Appa and Momo, but Gyatso was long gone. He didn't even get a chance to try to save him. He didn't get a chance to talk to him one last time. Aang fought back the angry tears that were always threatening to spill from his eyes. He hated Azula. Even though he had a handful of encounters from her, he hated her. He wished she'd rot in prison for the rest of her life.

Aang finally managed to dress and shuffle out of the bathroom. Just as he settled himself into bed, he heard a nurse arguing in the hallway.

"Sir," she said in a frustrated tone. "You cannot go in there without a visitors pass. The patient is-"

Whoever she was talking to ignored her and walked into Aang's room anyway. His skin was a perfect alabaster, and though flawless, still showed age. His hair was very dark, very shiny, and he had on an expensive suit. But if it weren't for the eyes, Aang would not have known who this man was. For the first time ever, Aang met Zuko's father.

"Uh...hi," he said, not sure what he should say to the intimidating man.

"Hello, boy. I'm sure you already know who I am," Ozai said smugly. He eyed the balloons and cards, then grimaced. Aang guessed Zuko's signature is what made him cringe.

"Do you need anything?" Aang asked, ignoring the arrogant statement.

"I need you to listen, child, because this offer will only come once," Ozai said. He reached into the pocket on his blazer and pulled out a check book. "How much?" he asked gruffly.

"Excuse me?"

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Aang noticed how he looked exactly like Zuko when he did that. The likeness made him shrink back in his bed.

"How much to make this all go away?" Ozai said impatiently.

"Make what go away?" Aang asked. He had hoped he could go the rest of his life without running into this man, but instead, he came right to him. Aang could tell Ozai was loosing his patience, but the drugs already had his mind in a fog.

"The damn district attourney are talking about involuntary manslaughter because of your uncle, or grandfather, or whoever the hell he was to you. The damn seizure was brought on by stress from my daughter. I'm prepared to give you any amount of money if you can convince them to drop the charges."

Aang couldn't believe the audacity of this man. "First, he was my grandfather and he had a stroke. Second, your daughter ran a red light, gave me a concussion, almost killed my best friend, caused my only family to die from stress, and you want it to 'go away?"

"I don't know how many times I need to explain this too you. Does your medication make you incompetent? Any amount of money, and it's yours."

"No," Aang said, crossing his arms firmly and holding back a wince from the pain. "I won't take you money."

He was shocked when Ozai laughed. It was a dry, hollow sound, something that can only be created from a twisted sense of humor.

"You have no idea, do you? I know everyone in this pathetic little town, and let me tell you something, child, I've-"

"My name is Aang."

Ozai smiled. He looked like Azula when he did that. "Aang, then. You think you've got it all figured out? You've forgotten how expensive living on your own can be. Insurance, funeral arrangements, food, pets, bills, not to mention that fancy college you've been accepted to."

"How did you know about-"

"It's not important now, child." Ozai sneered. "What's important is that these charges never make it to a court room. You have the power to stop this. College is expensive. Twenty, maybe thirty thousand a year? How do you expect to pay for that with nothing?"

"I have a scholarship. I can-"

"I don't think you realize how much a scholarship covers when you travel out of state. Your little friends don't even know you're leaving, do they? Were you just going to pack up and run away? Leaving all your responsibilities behind, just like your pa-"

"Do not talk about my parents! If you had any sense of self respect, you'd leave. And never come back. I won't take your money and I won't drop the charges. Azula deserves exactly what's coming to her. I hope she never gets out of where ever the hell she is. She's sick and twisted and disturbed. I can see where she gets it from."

They stared at each other for a long time. Aang actually became nervous the man would hit him or unleash some time of other worldly rage upon him and his weakened state.

"I hope that dog of yours doesn't get hit by a car," Ozai said, straightening his suit and turning to leave. That seems to be so common in your family. You'll see how tough the real world is. You'll be a bus boy at a restaraunt in no time." Ozai slammed the door. Aang finally let out the breath he'd been holding. How on earth did Zuko grow up with this guy? And how dare he disrespect his parents, or even his dog! He needed to find Toph. He didn't know to what lengths Ozai would go through to get his way.

XXXXXXXX

"This is WAVA heating it up with spring. We got the Love doctor in the studio with us again today. And let me tell you, she's got the good stuff with her now. We're talking kissing expertise, subtle ways to look sexy, and of course, how to get down south of the border, if you know what I mean. Looks like we've got our first caller. This is WAVA, and you're on live with the Love Doctor.

"Yeah, I don't know if you remember me or not, but my name's Bei."

"Of course we do, honey! Did your man make up his mind? Or is he still hopping around like photos of Osama Bin Laden? Don't click on those, by the way. Unless you want a nasty virus, and I'm not talking to stomach flu, honey."

"Well, he told me that he loves me, but he just had a death in the family, and I don't know if that influenced it or not. I really care about him."

"Sounds like my ex boyfriend. I'm sorry about the death, honey, but you need to lay down the law with him. Give him some time to grieve, but when he's good again, you need to set him straight. Let him know all your feelings. Don't hold back. Once he know's your serious, he'll act right. I know exactly what your going through. My guy couldn't make uo his mind for almost a year."

"Why'd you keep hooking up with him?" The announcer asked.

"He was double jointed. He could do this thing with his finger where he-"

"ALRIGHT! That was the Love Doctor, about to get us kicked off air. This is WAVA, hoping your love life is heating up with spring."

XXXXXXXX

Toph hung onto Appa a she tugged her down the block. "Slow down, you stupid dog!" she yelled at him. But he kept pulling forward, not listening to her at all. "Aang better get you soon, before I sell you to a circus!" she threatened. She yaked on his leash, finally getting him to slow down. "That's better," she said, walking in time with the massive, white dog. He wagged his tail in a friendly way and stared up at her.

"Wow, you really are Aang's dog," Toph said. They stayed on the long street that housed the mansions. Just as she turned the corner, a dark car slowed down and coasted towards her. She stared at the car for a moment, making a point to look at the liscence plate just in case they tried something shady. It slowed down, stopped, then sped up the street and screeched away.

"What the hell was that all about?" she asked. Appa whimpered next to her. She didn't notice how he'd been growling the entire time. She had a feeling that if a big dog wasn't next to her, she'd would have been shoved into the car. "I think that's enough walking for one day, Appa. We should head home." She said. Appa walked next to her, all traces of happiness gone. At every car that passed him, he stopped and growled, making the fur on his back rise. She patted the top of his head and picked up her pace, hurrying home faster. "Something tells me who ever that was wasn't looking for directions."

Appa acted as their guardian until they walked through her front door. She took of Appa's leash and harness and watched him wag his tail as he waddled up the wide staircase. Her father walked down the stairs, ignoring Appa, and failing as the dog nipped at Lao's hands. He muttered something that sounded like "Can't wait until the damn ribs heal."

"Toph," Lao said, wiping the drool from his hands. "Your mother is cleaning out your closet. She's helping organize a charity event and she wants to give away some old video games. I barely salvaged my pen collection."

Toph thundered up the stairs and Appa, as always, was right at her heels. She opened her door to see shoes and clothes being tossed from her closet.

"Mom?" she said, stepping into her closet. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, Toph!" Poppy said, clutching a picture frame to her chest. "Look what I found!" She turned the frame so Toph could see a picture of her with soap suds in her hair. She was only a baby, but she was grinning at the camera with two teeth in her mouth.

"Yeah, I hid it for a reason," she said, kicking over a pile of clothes. "Dad said your giving away my stuff."

"Not all of it. Just the things we don't use anymore. Our family doesn't need to wallow in useless treasures. That's how hoarding starts. Look at this, Street Fighter, Mortal Combat, Sonic the Hedgehog? You don't even play with a Sega anymore."

"Mom, these are classics!" Toph said, clutching the cartridges. "These could be worth a lot of money some day."

"Sweetie, that is the last thing we need to worry about."

Next to cars stalking me, Toph thought. She helped her mother go through the things she'd discarded over the years. She found her kindergarten picture and diploma, her retainer from her braces scare, and Aang's jeans that he'd given her to borrow. She still had his shirt in there somewhere, and she didn't want to give them back yet. She thought smugly about how many things Onji had of Aang's. She found a guitar pick, from her week long hippie phase. She tried to master every song on the radio, but gave up because Aang was so much better at it than her. She didn't want to admit it, but she enjoyed watching him play her favorite songs.

"Oh! I wanna play this one!" Toph said, picking up a game she hadn't played in years.

"You can play all you want after we box this stuff up," Poppy said. "How's Aang?" she asked, changing the subject.

Toph shrugged. "He's okay. He's awake, but in a lot of pain. He's just trying to deal with everything."

"My poor Toph," Poppy said. Toph ducked out of a bone crushing hug her mother seemed so skilled at giving. "I'm so sorry. You've been through so much. Sometimes I forget you're growing up. First that boy Chan, now this. I know you're strong, Toph, but you don't need to face these things alone."

"I know, Mom."

"I love you, Tophy-bear. You don't understand how much."

"I lmmyutmmmmm..." Toph mumbled. She squealed and laughed when Poppy threw her arms around her, causing both of them to fall on the ground.

"What was that?" Poppy said, tickling her daughters ribs.

"I said I love too!" Toph laughed, trying to scramble away from her mother. They kept laughing as they finished picking out the old games and clothes, and brought them downstairs.

"When can we go through your stuff?" Toph said.

"Never. Because unlike the two of you, I actually use everything I own," Poppy said, turning up her nose and stacking the boxes by the door.

"She's lying, Toph," Lao said. "She has Micheal Jackson CD's that she hasn't touched in years."

"You stopped collecting old pens when Toph was born!" Poppy shot back. "He claims one was salvaged from a sunken ship."

"I don't need to explain the value of that collection again, " Lao said, walking back up the stairs, followed by Appa.

"If I got rid of my Sega, you're getting rid of MJ," Toph said.

"Absolutely not!"

"Mom, they make more and more every year! No one even uses CD's anymore. Just pirate the music like the rest of the world."

She tried not to grimace as her mother moon walked into the family room, probably to hide her CD's. Toph rolled her eyes. She didn't know how she got stuck with the worlds strangest parents. She walked into her basement and pulled out a dated game system, put in the disc she'd hidden from her mother, and let herself be taken to another world.

"Hello, Link, old friend. Let's go kick Ganon's ass."

~*~*~!~!~~*~*~*~*

Boy, you guys had some crazy facts. I'm sorry I didn't use them all, but I will in the next chap because SOMETHING BIG IS GOING TO HAPPEN! Here's a fact about me: I hate attention whores. Yeah, hate 'em. I want to hit them with a car. Like Azula. ITS THE RETURN OF OZAI! Be honest, how many of you screamed? Review! I don't own Avatar!