That night. Zuko had pretty much resigned himself to the fact he wasn't going to sleep for the simple fact that Lao was never going to sleep.

Ones Toph had left with the others making her tunnel inside Lao had gone into a deep panic attack which wasn't really that surprising. Really Zuko should have seen this coming and he started regretting volunteering for staying behind on quite frankly… Baby sitting duty.

Zuko glanced on Lao whom was almost done through chewing through his nails as he just sat there in kneeled position.

"Toph is going to be fine." Zuko finally spoke up. "She's one of the strongest people I ever met! And that's saying something considering the people I used to be around."

"Strong?!" Lao asked. "Toph is not strong! She's small and delicate and.."

"No she's not." Zuko snapped annoyed. "She just pretended to be!"

"Why?!" Lao asked. "Why would she ever pretend! And for so long."

"Maybe exactly so you wouldn't react… Exactly like this." Zuko commented dryly.

Lao spluttered. "My reaction is perfectly reasonable! You are the one sending my daughter into a prison camp!"

"Look! If she wanted to go. Nobody would be able to stop her." Zuko said. "She's the greatest earth bender in the world. Literately nothing can stop her from doing what she wants to do! She's legit like a human boulder rolling down a mountain."

Lao looked at Zuko and he swallowed. "I don't understand." he said. "Ho...How can that be? That would mean I don't even know my own daughter." he said. "My daughter! I raised her since the day she was born and she has never…" she halted.

Now Zuko looked sympathetically at Lao whom was lowering his head as he squinted his eyes.

Zuko hesitated. Then finally he spoke. "You do know that children will do anything to make their parents love them right?" he asked.

Lao turned to him looking wide-eyed at Zuko.

"They will even pretend to be someone they are not." Zuko swallowed. "I know… I spend a lot of years doing just that. And it made me so miserable." he closed his eyes. "For years I tried to be the person my father wanted me to be. Just in the hopes that one day he would show that he cared about me… Finally I realized that's not going to happen. I can't change who I am. As little as Toph can change who she really is. I mean sure we can pretend, but we can't change. And my father was never going to accept me or love me for who I really am… Finally I realized that. And as I realized it I could finally let go and just move on." he sighed deeply. "Mr Beifong… If you can't accept Toph for who she really is. You're going to loose her. Forever." he said. "My father could never accept me. But I kind of hoped you would be different with her. Unlike my father you seem to care."

Lao squinted his eyes. "Care?" he asked. "There hasn't gone a day by I didn't think of her. Of her future, her happiness." he swallowed. "When she vanished I could not sleep or rest. I had no idea where she was or what had happened to her."

Zuko nodded. "That must have been hell."

Lao closed his eyes. "When Poppy was pregnant… It wasn't an easy pregnancy. She got very sick… She started to have seizures. The doctor said it was something called pre-eclampsia… And if they didn't perform an early caesarian section they would both die for certain. Even with the procedure though the risk of death with the both of them was high and there was nothing I could do about it… Thanks to the mines I had discovered and excavated. I was one of the riches men in the earth kingdom. All of that money… And I was still powerless."

"They lived though." Zuko pointed out.

"Barely." Lao smiled lightly his eyes misty. "Toph was so tiny. And her eyes were cloudy…" he swallowed. "I held her. And while she was moving towards any noises she heard she didn't see. Poppy was confined to bed for six months and was at deaths door for the first two.. She finally got better but then we got other news. The entire ordeal had.." he halted. "Poppy would be unable to bear any more children."

"I'm sorry." Zuko said.

Lao shook his head. "Toph was a miracle. I remember sitting with her in the night. Poor Poppy. She couldn't even breast feed her own child. But at least I could sit next to her and let her hold Toph's hand. We knew things would be difficult. We are at war, the fire nation has been pressuring to take control of our mines. They are after all the best iron mines in the earth kingdom and… Those belong to me. We were afraid they would try to use Toph as leverage. How could she hope to defend herself? So we hid her… I just.. I wanted her to be safe."

"You should tell her all of that." Zuko said seriously.

Lao averted his eyes.

"You know." Zuko said. "I think you and Toph have more in common than either of you realize." he said. "She was able to invent metal bending because she could feel how steel was indeed just refined earth. She can feel every little grain and mineral through her fingers and feet. She got that from you. Didn't she?"

Lao glanced up finally meeting Zukos eyes.

"The Toph I learned to know is pretty incredible." Zuko said. "She's proud and she's strong. She doesn't care what other people think about her but stays true to her own principles. She's also loyal and caring. She would protect those she cares about with her life. You should be proud of her."

Lao swallowed as he looked at Zuko.

"It's too late for me and my father. Or rather it was just never going to happen." Zuko said. "But it's not to late for the two of you. If you can just accept her for what she really is. She only acted the way she did… because she wanted you to love her. But she's growing up… And if you don't accept her.. The real her. Then it will be to late. You will loose her."

Then Lao closed his eyes.

"Just talk to her." Zuko asked. "And listen to what she's actually saying."

There was silence, a long stretch of silence. Zuko was holding his breath as he waited for Laos answer and then finally… Lao nodded.

"Okay." he said and Zuko gasped for breath. "It does though sound like… I don't even know my daughter. My only daughter." he squinted his eyes. "How is that possible."

"That can be fixed." Zuko said. "It's not too late. Not yet."

Lao nodded. Again there was a stretch of quiet. "I… Apologize." he said. "For having called you a hooligan."

Zuko snorted. "I've been called worse." he said. "But thank you. Apology accepted."

Lao glanced down, just then his eyes widened. "No." he gasped.

"What?" Zuko asked.

"The magma chamber! The pressure is building up! Don't you feel the earth shaking?" Lao asked.

"Erhm… no." Zuko admitted.

"Tophs earth bending! It's upsetting the earth!" Lao exclaimed as he stood up.

"Look I'm sure Toph wont just head right into a Magma chamber. She knows where she's going even under ground." Zuko assured.

"That's not the issue! She's not headed towards the magma. The Magma has been building up pressure and with the earth above it weakened it's going to come through!" Lao exclaimed. "We have to warn them! TOPH!" he shot up and started to run.

"Hey wait! Mr Beifong!" Zuko shouted running after him. "Let me handle it! You'll just get in the way! MR BEIFONG!"

But there was no stopping this guy… At all… That seemed to be another trait his precious girl had gotten from him. There really was not stopping either of these two when they had set their mind upon something!