The OC, Chen Beifong, can be found in my other work "Guess I'm Going with You." If you'd like to read more about her I'd recommend checking it out!

Izumi never understood how anyone could live in Republic City for the entire year.

It was beautiful in the spring, perfectly warm in the summer (though nothing compared to a summer's day at Ember Island, to be sure). Autumn was fine, but those winters? How could anyone enjoy being that cold for that long a period of time?

"Lin, how do you do it? My reports are saying it snowed over six inches there, and that it's expected to increase overnight!"

Lin chuckled, surely because she'd seen worse. "Just Republic City winters for you, nothing out of the ordinary. How is it in the warm, sunny Fire Nation?"

"Same old, same old. You'd know, of course, if you had visited last winter." Lin normally visited every year, had since she was a child, but had skipped last year's vacation. I've already spent a year in Gaoling, I can't take more time off from work.

True, she had responded, but I still think you should come visit us, because of the...well, you know.

Yeah, I know.

Yet that hadn't stopped her from staying in Republic City while her ex, who she had dated since she was a teen, married a slip of a thing he had barely known for a year. Izumi couldn't judge, but at the same time...well, perhaps the man shouldn't be marrying a girl more suited for Iroh, hm?

"Lin, really, you should come in for a bit. A couple weeks isn't going to kill you, especially since Gaoling was for medical leave and this would be for vacation. Besides, don't you have your Saikhan to run things for you while you're gone?"

"I mean, I just closed a case involving fixing probending matches, so I couldhave Saikhan cover—"

"Then it's settled! How quickly can you get down to the port?"

"Zumi, you can't be serious—"

"Of course I am! There's at least two more ships leaving for the capital this evening, and considering how long it takes to sail here it's much more enjoyable to take this trip at night. That way you'll wake up nice and refreshed and in the Fire Nation!"

Lin's pause might as well have been her confirmation. "…I guess I don't have a choice, do I?"

She couldn't hide her satisfaction even if she tried. "Not really, my dear. Pack your bags, because the next ship leaves in an hour."

If she were asked what her favorite meal was, Izumi would automatically respond with breakfast. Not because of the food—which, while delicious, was nothing compared to dinner and dessert—but because it was the one time of the day her family could come together and enjoy each other's company before their obligations took precedence. She read the newspaper, her father his reports, and her mother styled Mizuki's hair for the day, just as she had done with her as a child. "Mama, do I have to go to bending practice today—ow, Gramma, too tight, ow, OW—Auntie Lin and Iroh are coming in today, and thatnever happens!"

"Not until later, little spark. Your practice will long be over by then."

"But Mama—"

"No buts, little one—here, I made your buns a little looser, do they hurt?—Your mother is right, you'll have plenty of time before they arrive. Isn't she, Zuko?"

"She is." Her parents had never tolerated pouting, but Agni they let Mizuki get away with everything. Perhaps, once Iroh has children, it will be the same with her. Not that she's eager for grandchildren, mind you. "Now don't look so sad, Mizuki. If you want, your grandmother and I will walk you there. If we leave now, we can even stop to say hi to the turtleducks on the way over."

Mizuki brightened immediately. "We can?"

"Of course! Now come, my dear, we don't want to be late!"

Their footsteps had just receded when she heard a voice. "Did I miss breakfast already? I thought the whole point of me traveling overnight was so that I could eat breakfast with you all in the morning!"

There was Lin, ageless Lin. Blurry, true, and somehow still carrying things from the ship, but Lin nevertheless. She couldn't help but grin. "You would have, except for the fact that Father promised Mizuki that she could see the turtleducks before her bending lesson. I don't think I've ever seen her so excited to leave early in my life."

"So no one's around? Ah, then dinner tonight is going to be quite the surprise."

"Quite the—?" Damn this poor eyesight, always needing glasses…and then she caught it. The tiny flash of black hair under Lin's grey, the chubby arms around her neck.

If her jaw could physically hit the floor, it would have. "Lin, is that—is that—"

The metalbender nodded, a smile on her lips, then looked down at the toddler she was carrying. "Badgermole, do you want to say hi to your Auntie Zumi?"

The slightest of movements, and green.Gaoling green, Lin's green, and Agni, that's Lin's hair, her nose, her—

"Hi hi!"

Well, certainly not Lin's detached personality. She had barely met her and already the little toddler was reaching for a hug. And, well, what kind of aunt would she be if she didn't pick up this tiny, precious niece of hers?

"Mama, warm. Warm, warm, warm!"

Lin's laugh was low but it too was warm, like honey seeping into her bones. True, firebenders naturally ran hotter, but they got their kindling from those they loved. Maybe one day, the little one will understand.

"Don't worry, Zumi, that means she likes it. She gravitates more towards warmth than anything, it seems."

"Considering your winters over there, can't say I blame her. To my study?"

"After you, Crown Princess."

"Do I sense a mocking tone in your voice, Chief Beifong?"

"Who, me? Why, I would never mock a member of the Royal Family!"

"Really? Because I wouldn't normally mock the Chief of Police of Republic City, and yet she's trying to open a supply closet she thinks is my study. Allow me."

Her study was arguably her favorite place in the palace. Lin had teased her mercilessly when she realized she had inadvertently patterned the place off her tutor's office, but at the same time Lin could be found finishing her paperwork at the heavy wooden desk or reading in one of the large, overstuffed armchairs facing the fireplace. Sure enough, she was already settling into her favorite spot.

"Zumi, do you want me to take her so you can light the fireplace?"

She could already feel the little girl's arms tightening around her neck. "No! No go!"

"Sweetheart—"

"It's not a problem, Lin. All I have to do is shift her to this arm so I can light the fireplace with this arm."

Having been born a firebender and surrounded by them, she forgot how stunning it was to others to create fire from nothing. The little girl was entranced, her blue flames reflecting in the girl's large eyes.

"Blue! Warmblue!"

"It is! It is warm and blue," she found herself cooing. Agni, she could just smother the little one in kisses. Good luck to Lin if she thought she was getting her daughter back anytime soon.

She hadn't realized they had been sitting in silence until Lin cleared her throat. "I think she's fallen asleep in your lap. I can put her down in my room, just give me five—"

"If you think you'll be able to pry this precious treasure out of my arms, you are sorely mistaken. Lin Beifong, tell me everything."

Lin sighed, her gaze more worn than defiant. Not a usual look for the stubborn woman—and that couldn't be good. "Where do I even start?"

"Her name would be appreciated. Unless it is Badgermole?"

"It's Chen. Chen Mei-yin Beifong."

"Yin? Yin as in—"

"Yeah, as in Su. I even used the same character."

"Spirits, I didn't even realize you two were speaking. How did she react?"

"We're not. She doesn't know about her. Other than you, Saikhan, my men at the precinct, and the midwife, no one knows about her. Spirits knows what would happen if it got back to—" Lin clapped her hands over her mouth.

The secretiveness. The year-long medical leave in Gaoling, the exhaustion she couldn't hide on the phone in the second half. No one else outside the precinct knew, because that was the one place he wouldn't look.

"Tenzin."

The tears silently streaking across Lin's face were confirmation enough. Agni, and she just had to pay homage to Tenzin's newborn, the next great hope of the Air Nomads, last week. Little did he know his true firstborn was a ferry-ride away…

Wow. As if she needed even more of a reason to dislike Tenzin.

"Lin, love, why didn't you tell me? I could have helped, I would have been at her birth—"

"And Bumi?"

"We keep secrets from each other due to our work anyways. Besides, he's not exactly on speaking terms with Tenzin at the moment. Neither of us have since he ran after his new wife."

"That's sweet of you, truly, but you don't need to stop speaking to him because of me—"

"No, Lin. He doesn't get to date you for nearly two decades only to run after and marry an acolyte within a year because she basically sold her uterus to him!"

"Careful…"

Spirits, she had forgotten how weightless toddlers were. Or how easily they could be soothed back into sleep with a kiss.

"Lin, he doesn't get to treat you like that and then not only not suffer any consequences, but be rewarded instead with even more attention than he usually gets? No, Lin, I won't stand for it. Neither will Bumi—if you want to tell him, of course."

Lin answered with a nod. The only thing worse than a worried Lin was one who wouldn't respond.

"…Lin?"

"…Yeah?"

"Why else didn't you tell me?"

Most people assumed that Lin was indifferent, but that's because they didn't pay attention. The tense jaw, the rolling of the shoulders—she was stressed, so stressed, and no one knew. "Spirits, Izumi, look at who her parents are! Her grandparents! I know things were different for you growing up here, but being in Republic City as the child of war heroes and now politicians, people who were running the city—"

"It was like being under constant watch, wasn't it?"

"Everything we did was reported on. Our births, our first days of school—in Tenzin's case, when he started bending—I hated it growing up, and I don't want that for Chen. I don't want her to grow up with all of these legacies bearing down on her, especially considering who her father is, and especially considering that she's an earthbender. I mean, you know what happened to Bumi!"

"I know, he couldn't leave the island fast enough. Wait, what do you mean she's already a bender? Iroh and Mizuki didn't start until they were three, and that's early for us!"

"Whenever she kicked, the earth underneath my feet would shift. It's only a matter of time before she does it for real. And her growing up on Air Temple Island a non-airbender—"

"Would be torture."

"Exactly. I want Chen to grow up happy, and Tenzin, quite frankly, needs to repopulate the Air Nomads without guilt. Those two goals don't go hand-in-hand, if Bumi and Kya are any indication."

"No. No they don't."

"Promise you won't tell Bumi next time he's on leave? I know you trust him, but when he gets worked up—"

"I know. Consider it done."

A genuine smile. Thank Agni. "Thanks, Zumi. Oh, and one of your advisors is about to come in."

Thank the Spirits for Lin and her seismic sense. Otherwise, she'd never know when Ryu would appear. "Crown Princess, Chief Beifong."

"Ryu, a pleasure. Forgive me, but I thought the policy discussion wasn't reconvening until Monday. Has something changed?"

"No, your Highness. I'm here for Chief Beifong. A Lieutenant Saikhan is calling, apparently something happened at a council meeting? He said he presented as asked, but that the members weren't satisfied."

Lin groaned just loudly enough to fully wake Chen. "I was hoping that wouldn't happen, but I'm not surprised. Can you watch Chen?"

"Of course. Go, go sort out whatever nonsense that council puts you through."

"Assuming I can. Ryu, where's your nearest phone?"

"Down the hall. Please, follow me."

The slightest stirring on her lap. Agni, Lin would have given birth to herself. "Zu-mi?"

"Hi, little one. Do you want to read some policy proceedings with me?"

Being deployed at the cadet academy wasn't how he envisioned his first position post-officers' school, but at the same time he couldn't complain either. He could fine-tune his bending, learn more about military policy—and the fact that he was deployed so close to home didn't hurt either. He saw his father at least once a month since they served in the same branch of the UF, but now he can actually see his mother and little sister more than twice a year.

"Your Highness, welcome back to the palace! Forgive us, but we weren't expecting you until dinner."

"Thank you, Ryu. You are correct, I wasn't supposed to be in until dinner but my supervisor gave me early leave. Is my family in?"

"Princess Mizuki is finishing up her bending lesson, and your mother is in her study. Shall I show you there?"

"If you would, Ryu."

Agni bless his mother, she was always wed to her reports. Piles of reports and old books and sweet Agni that's a toddler sitting in his mother's lap.

Did he miss something?

"...Ma?"

His mother hadn't smiled so wide since she told him about Mizuki's impeding arrival. "Yes?"

True, his job kept him away from home for significant amounts of time, but surely he would have known if his mother was pregnant. That's not something that can be easily hidden…right? "Is that…who is…did you…rebound?"

"Nope."

"No really, it's okay if you did. I know that the stress between you and Dad is a lot, and the distance can be difficult—"

"Iroh, your father and I are very solidly committed to each other unless I've misinterpreted the love letters I received yesterday from the southeastern Earth Kingdom. If that's the case, then my, we certainly have a lot to catch up on next time he's on leave."

"Then who—?"

"This is your cousin, Chen Beifong. Chen, this is your cousin Iroh. He can make fire too."

"EYE-ro? Warm blue?"

"No, little badgermole, only red."

So quizzical for one so young! "Oh…hi hi EYE-ro!"

"Beifong? Is she Su's latest kid?"

"Nope."

…

…

"Sweet in the sacred fire—"

He'd never seen his mother cover an infant's ears so quickly in his entire life. What, was she expecting him to just take this information quietly? Not react in the slightest? Grandfather might be good at that, but he certainly wasn't. "Language, Iroh!"

"Wha—it's blasphemy, Ma, not a curse!"

Chen certainly didn't seem affected, if her fascination with his mother's pendant was any indication. Not that his mother cared, apparently. "There is an infant, Iroh!"

"But the Earth Kingdom doesn't even venerate—okay, fine, I'm sorry, Mama. Can I hold her?"

Toddlers are so light, are they normally this light? She's so little, and her eyes are so green, and her laughter sounds so pure—sweet spirits what a happy baby! You'd think becoming an older brother at 15 would have accustomed him to toddlers, but Mizuki wasn't this small, was she? He didn't remember her being this small!

"Look at how comfortable she is in your arms! You like your cousin, don't you?"

"I think she likes my medals more, will she choke—"

"No, she'll be fine. It's not like they have small pieces, anyways."

"If you say so, Ma. Don't look too excited about me with a baby, that's not happening for a long time."

"Eh, so you say now. Your father and I said the same thing after we married and you were born a year later. That being said, I'm not in any great rush to become a grandmother."

Dad…oh sacred fire, he's going to hit the roof. As if he needed even more of a reason to not talk to his brother. "Does Dad know about Chen? Wait, how long have you known?"

"Since Aunt Lin came in a few hours ago carrying that precious toddler on her hip. She doesn't want your father to know, and I promised her that I wouldn't tell him. I can trust that you won't tell him either?"

"Of course. Though Dad doesn't let things slip…"

"…except for when he does. Promise me that you won't tell."

"I won't. But what about Mizuki?"

Agni, with that smile? Oh, Ma definitely had something up her sleeve. "Now that she's nine, I think it's time we take her down to the Dragon Catacombs, don't you?"

"So you're going to tell her about her baby cousin and then scar her for life? That's a little cruel, don't you think?"

"If it makes you feel better, I won't have your grandfather hide behind the skeletons and fake them coming back to life like I did with you. I'll just take her down in the middle of the night instead."

"I…I think that might actually be worse, Ma. What are you going to say, 'let's go dragon-hunting?' Because that barely worked on me!"

"You know, I hadn't actually thought of something yet, but I'm open to suggestions. But honestly, it'll be fine—Zuki won't tell."

Oof, when did his shirt get damp—right, Chen and the medals. Couldn't particularly blame her, they were shiny and metal, things both a baby and a Beifong would appreciate. "If you say so, Ma…but can I ask one more thing?"

"Of course."

"Does Auntie Lin realize that we might not give Chen back?"

Spirits help his grandfather if his mother was this mischievous as a child. "Nope."