As it turned out, Katara's earlier prediction was spot on. By the end of the month, the little shrimp was not so little anymore and Toph was feeling exceptionally pregnant. Back pain was now a nearly constant issue and her ankles had swollen up to almost twice their normal size.

"This is just the fucking worst," she complained while she lounged on the couch with her feet up.

"Saying that over and over again isn't going to change anything," Katara said.

"Yeah, well, it helps me."

"You know I don't like it when you swear within earshot of my children."

"Oh, who cares! It's not like they haven't heard it before."

"Spirits, give me strength," Katara muttered under her breath.

"I heard that."

"I know it's hard, Toph. Trust me, I know." As if on cue, Tenzin started crying. Katara retrieved him from the bassinet and sat back down. "I can't express how badly I want Tenzin to be an airbender," she added quietly.

Toph sighed, feeling a tiny bit bad about her constant complaining. But only a tiny bit. After all, Katara had wanted to be a mom. She had married the only airbender in the world on purpose. But Toph wasn't quite crabby enough to point that out.

"How did you get Bumi and Kya to be so quiet today?" she asked instead, genuinely curious. Those terrors were always loud, whether they were playing nicely or arguing.

"Aang had some free time and made up a game to play with them. Had them running all around the Island for hours. I told them if they stayed quiet until dinner, I'd make a special dessert, and it seems like they might be tired enough to actually follow through with that."

"Bribery, huh? I'll keep that in–" A hearty jab against her ribs made her cut off sharply, gasping. "Ow! Fuck!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"Goddamn…" Toph breathed, sitting up. "That was…strong." And more than enough to provide a clear picture. It was oddly gratifying, finally knowing she'd been right all along.

"Did the baby kick?!"

"I'll say. Fuck. That actually kind of hurt–" She winced as it happened again. "Alright, that's enough of that."

"Can you tell what it is?"

"Yeah. Girl."

"Oh, yay!" Katara squealed. "I'm so pleased!"

"Why?"

"It's what I've always pictured."

"Always? Whaddya mean always?"

"I mean, this isn't quite how I pictured it happening, and I realize it was never your plan, but I can't help it. I always wanted us to have kids the same age."

"You're ridiculous," Toph muttered, rolling her eyes. The kicking seemed to have stopped for now and she relaxed back into the couch.

"How's your back feeling now? Did that cream help at all?"

"A little, yeah. It's all tingly."

"You probably don't want to hear this, but sitting and lying down isn't helping. Walking around is the best thing you can do for it."

"A few months ago, you were telling me to take it easy. Now you're telling me to be more active? Make up your mind."

"I didn't say 'active'. I said 'walking'."

"I do still train a little at work, you know. I just get so tired, I can't keep it up for long. Ugh, I'm getting so out of shape. I've lost just about all of my muscle tone. And my face!" She put her hands on her cheeks and squished them. "It's round."

"That's normal," Katara chuckled. "Means you're eating enough to keep the both of you healthy."

"She's a fucking ravenous monster."

"Like mother, like daughter."

Throughout the next week, having decided to take Katara's advice, Toph got up and paced the halls at work for a few minutes whenever the backache became too much for her. Or whenever she had to pee, which was often. It did actually seem to help, though the snarky comments she got from some of her more senior officers did nothing to improve her mood. Nato seemed to get a special enjoyment from tormenting her.

One day, as she was passing one of the training rooms, her meteorite bracelet shivered violently.

"C'mon! Just move, damn it!" a voice inside yelled.

Toph paused to observe for a minute. She didn't recognize the voice, which meant it was probably a trainee. A moment later, a large chunk of the floor was lifted and thrown across the room violently, the frustrated earthbender falling to her knees. Toph entered quietly and was halfway across the room before the young woman seemed to notice her presence.

"Chief!" she cried, getting to her feet quickly. "I– I didn't see you there."

"What's your name?"

"Aiko, Ma'am."

"Metalbending training not going well?"

"I know I can do it. I passed the test. But ever since…" She trailed off, a bitter note in her voice.

Toph lifted her sleeve and removed her bracelet to suspend it in the air above her hand, shifting it from one shape to the next.

"What is that?" Aiko asked.

"A piece of a meteorite. Unrefined, easier to bend than iron or steel. I was walking by when I felt it shiver on my arm. That's why I stopped. You're right – you can do it. Here, you try."

There was a prolonged silence after Aiko took it. Toph could feel how tense her posture was.

"You need to relax. Instead of concentrating on trying to bend, concentrate on yourself and your surroundings. Close your eyes. Feel your heartbeat, your breathing. Feel the ground under you and the weight in your hand. You have to center yourself first, and then try to visualize what's inside the thing you're trying to bend, what makes it different. Rock is pounded into submission, but metal takes a more deft touch to get an initial feel for. And then it's pounded into submission."

After a minute or so of silence, Aiko gasped. "I– I did it!"

"Good job." Spirits, when was the last time I got to do this? It's been so long.

"Thank you, Chief," Aiko said sincerely. "You're a very patient teacher."

"You might be the first person who's ever said that," Toph said with a grin. "I generally prefer shouting. Guess I just don't have the energy right now. Plus, I'm a little out of practice. Haven't done much teaching lately."

"Do you miss it?"

"Mm. Sometimes."

"I'm sure you're too busy, but I would be honored if you would teach me, Chief," Aiko said reverently.

"Hm…" Toph tapped her lips in thought. Could she justify it? With all the changes being made in preparation for her taking a few weeks off, she was busier than ever, despite the fact that she never left the building during the day. But being on her feet like this was a whole lot better than sitting behind a desk. "I guess maybe I can spare an hour or two a week."

"R–really?"

In response, Toph reached her hand out and summoned the chunk of metal that lay buried under the piece of floor that Aiko had thrown at it. "Don't let it hit the ground."

Over the course of the next several weeks, several trainees and even a few rookies started trickling into Toph's training sessions with Aiko.

"Sorry, Chief," she said the first time it happened. "They found out and I didn't know what to say."

"It's fine," Toph had said, waving her hand dismissively. In truth, she was really enjoying this. Riju was the last person she had taught metalbending to and it had been years since she'd gotten to do basic stuff with beginners. More importantly, it kept her on her feet. Nothing really made the backache go away anymore, but sitting was torture and she had to do that for most of the day.

With six weeks left to go, according to Katara's calculations, Toph was trying her damnedest not to waddle. It wasn't easy; her center of gravity was all wrong. And every time the kid twisted around or slammed her feet into Toph's ribs – which was often – she'd nearly lose her balance all over again.

I am so ready for you to be out, Shrimp, she complained silently as she paced between her students. They were currently working on an exercise in which they passed large chunks of metal between each other to improve precision while also focusing on brute strength.

One student, a rookie officer who should be much better, dropped his piece as she passed.

"Get it together, Jinko," Toph said, catching it. "C'mon, this is just a warm-up. What's the matter with you?"

"I'm sorry, Chief. It's just that you walking in between us is making me nervous. I'm worried I'm going to hit you."

She stopped her pacing and planted her hands on her hips. "You're worried about hitting me? Seriously?"

"Well, it's not you I'm worried about…"

With an exasperated scowl, Toph lifted her arm to bring every piece of metal towards her and crushed them together into one huge ball. Her intent was to separate the pieces again and send them through a complex dance around the room, just to prove her point, but she never got that far. It was only by sheer luck that there was no one beneath the heavy mass because a sudden sharp pain in her stomach made her drop it.

"Fuck!" she swore, staggering, as it crashed to the stone floor.

"What?"

"Chief?"

"What's wrong?"

"Are you ok?"

"Should we get someone?"

"Would you all just shut up for a second?" Toph muttered, lifting a pillar of rock to sit on. I didn't actually mean it, Shrimp! You better stay the fuck in there! Her heart was pounding, the fear rising. She knew that pain, knew what it meant. "Someone go to reception and send a telegram to Air Temple Island asking Katara to come here."

"Sure, Chief," Shian said, hurrying away.

"What about the rest of us?" Aiko asked. "Do you need anything?"

"No," Toph said, hands clenched on her pants to keep them from shaking. "Just go find something else to do for the rest of the day."

They reluctantly left and Toph was alone in the large, quiet room. The pain was gone but she kept expecting it to come back. What the fuck am I supposed to do?

The minutes ticked by slowly, agonizingly, until finally, Katara hurried into the room. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere. What's wrong? Did she crack your rib again?"

"No. It wasn't a kick. It was like…a really, really bad cramp."

"How many times?" Katara asked, sounding a little more concerned now.

"Just once."

"How long ago?"

"About twenty minutes."

"What were you doing when it happened? Training?"

"I was teaching a class. I guess you could say I was doing a little demonstration...heh."

Katara tsked. "Why do I feel like that means you were doing something you shouldn't have been doing?"

"Can you maybe stop lecturing me and try to figure out what's going on? Was it a contraction?"

"Hopefully not. You'll need to rest for a little while, and we'll see if it happens again. And I want you to come to the Island where I can keep an eye on you, at least until tomorrow morning."

"Ugh. I have a lot of work to do."

"Bring it with you, then. But stay put for a few minutes. I'm going to get Aang. I don't want you trying to get on Appa yourself."

"Stop by my office and have Rinna put together some paperwork for me to bring."

When Katara returned, Toph was permitted to slowly trudge outside rather than suffer the indignity of being carried by Aang. Still, her pride was rather bruised when he picked her up to lift her into Appa's saddle – and again when they made it to the Island.

"Ugh. I hate being helpless," she complained, shrugging away from him once on firm ground.

"No one thinks your helpless," Katara said. "We're just being cautious."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." As it turned out, though, Katara was right. Toph only made it halfway to the house when another spasm – worse than the first one – shot through her middle. "Fuck!"

"Pick her up!" Katara said shrilly while she was still doubled over.

Before she even knew what was happening, before the pain faded, Aang had scooped her up and started hurrying toward the house.

"I don't like this," Katara fretted once Toph was settled in bed, encasing her rotund belly in water.

"She's not moving," Toph said dully, a dread-filled calm suppressing everything else. "Does that mean anything? Is that bad?"

"Well, babies usually stop moving so much when they're getting ready to come. Hopefully, we can convince her not to."

For thirty minutes Katara made her lie perfectly still. Waiting. It felt like hours, the seconds ticking by painfully while her friend tried to keep her mind occupied by asking her about work.

"Alright," Katara said finally. "I think the danger has passed. But I'm afraid you need to go on bed rest."

"For how long?" Toph asked wearily.

"Until you're full term."

"What?! You cannot be serious! That's six weeks! How can I sit in bed and do nothing for six weeks?!"

"Toph. Listen to me. If you go into labor right now, she most likely won't survive."

As had occasionally happened during the last couple of months for much sillier reasons, Toph immediately dissolved into a puddle of tears. Katara's arm wrapped around her shoulders, giving a comforting squeeze.

"You just need to wait this out, ok? I know it's not easy for you, but it's only temporary. You can do this."

Three weeks later, Toph was already more than over the arrangement and she was one-hundred percent sure Katara felt the same way.

"I'm sorry!" her friend yelled, not sounding sorry at all. "That's what I cooked! I'll tell you the same thing I tell my children: if you don't like it, don't eat it!" She threw a bottle of hot sauce on the bed and stalked out.

Toph seethed as she drenched the otherwise flavorless blobs in her bowl with the sauce, mostly just annoyed at being scolded like a child. All she had said was, 'Don't you have anything a little heartier?'

Almost every day, either Luon, Nato, or Yachi (usually accompanied by Rinna) had come by to keep her updated and receive instructions, as well as bring more paperwork, but it was hard managing the day-to-day stuff from afar. She had not been ready for this sudden change, and neither had they.

In the last few days, Katara had permitted her brief walks through the house, but it wasn't nearly enough to stave off the mind-numbing restlessness, nor do anything for her aching back. She didn't even have Kya and Bumi coming by to keep her company anymore; they had started avoiding her like the plague after the first week.

On the cusp of week four, Toph couldn't stand it anymore. She went into the kitchen to speak to Bumi, who immediately began hurrying away.

"Hold up, Gremlin. I just want you to pass on a message to your mom when you see her."

"Ok?"

"I'm going for a walk down to the beach."

"She's gonna be mad."

"Just tell her."

"Alright…"

She knew exactly where Katara was, of course, but wasn't interested in asking for permission. Bumi wandered off quickly and she was left to creep towards the path on her own, which suited her just fine. It was bitterly cold outside, but refreshing. She slowly inched down the hill, one small, painstaking step at a time, trying not to overexert herself.

It was so nice to feel raw earth under her feet, soft dirt and rough stones massaging her soles, though they were more tender than they used to be. The sand at the bottom was even better; she dug her toes in and sighed with something approaching contentment. Oh, yeah. This is much better.

"TOPH!"

Aaand now it's over. She had been so focused on trying to enjoy her little outing that she hadn't even noticed Katara stomping down the hill.

"What do you think you're doing? Have you completely lost your mind?!"

"Pretty much," Toph said, making a lounge chair for herself out of packed sand. She wouldn't admit it, but the walk down had tired her out. "Or very nearly, at least," she added, stretching out. "I had to get out of there."

"If you needed some fresh air, you could've just walked outside! What in the name of Twi and La possessed you to walk all the way down here? Alone! Without telling me!"

"I told Bumi to tell you."

"Yes, because you knew I would've stopped you."

"Yep."

"Ugh. You're infuriating, you know that?"

"Hey, you're the one that's making me stay here, and stay in bed for weeks on end."

"I'm making you? Are you– Ugh! I am really struggling hard right now not to spell it out for you – graphically – to make you understand the consequences."

Toph scowled, not appreciating the guilt trip. "I understand, Sugar Queen. You've made it very clear." She lifted her hand and made another sand chair. "I went very slow. Nothing bad happened. We're here now. Can you please just let me enjoy this?"

Katara huffed but didn't say anything more, though she did sit down to presumably fume in silence. Toph willed herself to relax, focusing on the sound of the waves lapping against the sand and the seagulls cawing. It wasn't easy; the small life within her had started up its squirming and kicking again, an ever-present reminder of how much everything would be changing in a few short weeks.

It was the absolute last thing she wanted to think about right now. That was all the past several months had been – thinking, worrying, making plans. But it was all settled now, for the most part. Her captains had taken over most of her administrative duties, the renovations on her new house were coming along nicely (though the structural changes had proven to be more of a headache than originally thought), and she'd already started interviewing potential nanny candidates. She was supposed to be relaxing and enjoying this last little bit of time to herself.

Except it was impossible to enjoy sitting in bed all day. At first, there had always been someone there, asking her how she was and if she needed anything. Trying to take care of her, which she loathed. As the days wore on, people were less helpful, and she started to get very lonely. And so fucking bored.

Then night would come and she would try to pass the time with sleep, but that was apparently the kid's favorite time to do somersaults. Sleep did not come easily, and many nights Toph found herself pacing slowly through the house, grumbling about what her life had been reduced to.

After a half-hour or so, Katara got to her feet. "We need to head back up. Tenzin will be waking up soon."

"...Alright." Toph was getting hungry anyway. And she had to pee. There was really no telling when that would suddenly become urgent.

"Do you need h–"

"I got it." But despite her confident assurance, getting up on her own was a struggle, even with bending to assist her.

They were halfway up the hill when Toph's stomach clenched with intense pain, ten times stronger than before. "Fucking son of a goddamn motherfucking whore ass bitch!" she swore, sinking to her knees. "Fuck fuck fuck, oh sweet Mother of Faces, make it stop."

Katara crouched down and held her steady. "I knew this was a bad idea!"

"Aaaahh! Fuuuuck!"

"Try to breathe through it."

"I– can't–" Toph gasped, just as the pain began to leave her. "Ok. It– It stopped."

"Alright, let's get you back inside."

But Toph was frozen in fear.

"Can you walk?" Katara asked.

"This…is happening now...isn't it?" Spirits, what have I done?

"It's looking that way."

"But– I thought you said it's supposed to start off slow, like cramps?"

"Usually, that's true, but every birth is different. Sometimes things don't go as planned."

Katara put Toph's arm around her shoulder and pulled her to her feet, then they slowly made their way back to the house. No sooner had Toph gotten settled in her bed than the pain returned.

"Ughh!" She dug her fingers into the mattress. "Fuuuuck! I do not like this! At all! Fuck fuck fuck!"

"Breathe, Toph. I know it's hard, but try to relax and breathe evenly, like we practiced." Just as before, the pain evaporated as soon as it had come, though it left behind a powerful fatigue. Katara brought her a glass of water. "I need to get the children sorted out. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Toph just nodded, hoping Katara hadn't noticed her hands trembling. I'm not ready. I'm not fucking ready for this. But it was worse than that. The guilt was almost worse than the physical pain.

"Did you have any more contractions?" Katara asked when she returned.

"No." Toph took a couple of slow sips of her water. "Um…"

"What?"

She didn't want to ask, but she needed to know for sure. "...Is it too soon?" Have I killed my kid because I wanted to take a walk?

"It's only three weeks. Tenzin was two weeks early. She'll be small, but she should be ok."

Toph wanted to believe her. Without her feet on the floor, or physical contact, she really didn't know if Katara was being honest or just telling her what she wanted to hear. "Then why were you so upset about me going for a walk?"

"It's always better to get as close to full term as possible. Preemies sometimes need a little extra attention or special care. But I'm confident that she'll survive. Try not to worry. You're going to be just fine. I'll be here the whole time."

Toph forced a small smile. "Don't be so dramatic, Sugar Queen."

"Ggggnnnrrrr!" Toph growled through clenched teeth, somehow beyond swearing, tears streaming down her face. It had only been a little over an hour since they'd returned to the house and the contractions were coming hard and fast now. She squeezed Katara's hand as hard as she could, feeling bones grind against each other.

"Breathe, Toph."

Suddenly the ground began to rumble and shake; she just couldn't help herself. When the pain finally subsided and the rumbling died down, her composure cracked. "Where is Sokka?! He should be here! How could he not have heard by now?! Where could he be? What if he's dead?!" It was a fear she had doggedly suppressed for months.

"I'm sure we would've heard if that had happened," Katara soothed, mopping Toph's face with a damp cloth, wiping away sweat and tears alike. "But it's not anything you need to worry about right now. I wish he were here too, but I'm more concerned about that earthquake. Was that you?"

"Yeah," Toph muttered, taking a few deep breaths to get past that sudden burst of emotion.

"Are you going to be able to keep it under control?"

"I think so. I hope so."

"That contraction was only about five minutes since the last one," Katara announced, moving to the foot of the bed. "Oh, wow. This is going really fast. You might actually be ready to push soon."

With the next one, Toph nearly lost control of her earthbending. No sooner was it over than Aang knocked on the door.

"So I guess you're in labor?" he said once Katara had let him in.

"What was your first clue?" Toph muttered.

"I could feel that first quake from City Hall, and I could tell it was coming from here. Just kinda figured something might be happening. Do you want me to stay? I might be able to help you control it."

"Sure, Twinkle Toes. Just don't get too curious."

"I would never," Aang laughed. He sat down, picking up her hand and giving it a friendly squeeze.

For a few minutes, he did a pretty good job of keeping her mind occupied with listening to his mindless chatter about the idiots he'd been dealing with at City Hall. Then another contraction came and Toph's world was pain and rumbling earth.

Whatever he was doing was helping, though. He was standing now, still gripping her hand firmly. "Whew," he breathed once it was over. "It might take me a couple tries to get the hang of that. Somehow, you're still managing to teach me new things, Sifu," he teased.

Twenty minutes later, he was breathing hard. "Wow, this is exhausting."

"Please tell me you're joking," Katara huffed.

"Yeah, must be really fucking hard for you," Toph said acerbically, panting. "Now imagine you're trying to pass a watermelon-sized shit and you might have something remotely approaching an idea of what it's like for me."

"Er...sorry. I'll shut up now."

"Toph, I want you to push on the next one, alright?"

"Fantastic," she muttered. "Can't fucking wait."

She counted the contractions as they came. On the fourth one, what was left of her self-control broke and she just screamed, pouring everything into the stone beneath her. She didn't even care anymore. It felt like her whole body was splitting right up the middle, along with Air Temple Island. But what did that matter? The pain was the only thing that really existed.

Then suddenly something...shifted. The screaming earth fell silent, leaving only her wordless shout. With that connection gone, the pain and pressure seemed to sharpen. So much pressure. Each second was an eternity, stretching on as she pushed with everything she had until her lungs burned, desperate for breath. She barely noticed.

Then the pressure abruptly dropped off with an unpleasant rush of fluid. Toph filled her forgotten lungs and collapsed back against the pillows. Blood pounded in her ears. Four lonely heartbeats passed by, missing their companion, and then a shrill cry broke through the silence.

Logically, she knew that babies cried right off the bat, and yet it was still an upsetting noise. "Is she ok?" Toph croaked, her throat raw.

"I think so. Lungs are working well, clearly. I'll just have a quick look at her, then you can hold her."

Toph nodded and tried to relax. It's actually over. I got through it. Fuck, I am SO done with men. No amount of fun is worth the risk of going through that again. Never ever ever. Fuck.

The crying – coming from a baby that was, somehow, hers – was pulling on her in an odd way, but she tried to focus on just existing in this moment. It was hard to process the sudden loss of that constant presence within her. That extra heartbeat, gone. Too far away for her to feel. She felt so empty, so detached.

"Aang."

A hand lifted her head off the pillows and cool glass appeared on her lips. "Yeah?" he said while she sipped the offered water.

"You went into the Avatar state, didn't you?" she asked, brusquely wiping the tears and snot from her face.

"Heh. Yeah, right at the end there."

"What did you do? It felt so strange."

"I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. I think Kyoshi might have taken over for a second there. Best I can come up with is maybe it was some form of chi-blocking. Anyway, I'm glad it worked. You are freakishly strong."

"I don't call myself the greatest earthbender in the world for nothing. You need some practice, Twinkle Toes. Soon as I'm up and about, prepare to get a good thrashing."

"Is that any way to thank me for preventing you from turning this island into several smaller islands?"

"How else would I thank you?"

"Are you ready to hold her?" Katara asked, coming back over to the bed.

"Yeah." A small – and very noisy – weight, loosely wrapped in a blanket, appeared on her chest and she brought her arms up to support it. Fresh tears leaked from her useless eyes, though she was past the point of caring. It was mostly sheer relief, anyway.

With one hand, she traced the length of the tiny, squirming body, searching for the top. Her fingers found damp, slightly sticky hair; there seemed to be quite a lot of it. She brought her hand down to the face, lightly brushing over the small features. Those, she was already familiar with, from vibration. Touch was different though, another layer of depth. The closest thing in her world to color, she'd always thought.

"What does she look like?"

"A lot like you," Katara said. "She's got your hair, for sure. Thick and black. And she's got the cutest little face."

"She stopped crying," Toph murmured, feeling a pang of paranoia. She placed her palm on the small chest to make sure it was still rising and falling with breath.

"She's looking at you," Aang said.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. She seems curious."

It was such a simple thing. All those months of worry, culminating in this moment. She could see. She wasn't blind. "Fuck," Toph laughed, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I wish I could stop crying. This is ridiculous."

"You should have seen Katara when Bumi was born."

"Oh, that is rich, coming from you," Katara shot back.

"What? I was perfectly composed."

"You're a fucking liar," Toph said with a grin. She didn't need earthbending to tell her that.

"So have you decided what you're going to name her?" Katara asked.

For months – ever since talking to Aang about her dream – Toph hadn't been able to banish a name from her mind. Though the other details had faded, she still remembered that name. And she felt ridiculous even considering using it, yet had failed to come up with an alternative.

Now the moment was here. It felt…right.

"Lin."

"Welcome to the family, Lin Beifong. You don't know me yet, but I'm you're Uncle Aang." His voice caught at the end.

"Oh, don't tell me you're crying now, too?" Toph teased.

"It's not my fault! Katara started it."

"Oh, shush! I'm just happy, alright?" Katara said, sniffling faintly.

"You two are hopeless."

A loud crash from elsewhere in the house disturbed the calm moment. Both Aang and Katara sighed. "I'd better go see what that was," he said, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze. "Congrats, Toph."

After he left, Katara moved to the foot of the bed and lifted the sheet from Toph's legs. A moment later, cool, tingling water covered all the aching sore bits.

"Mm. That's nice. Feels like she ripped me apart."

"Well, I did try to get you to slow down there at the end," Katara said with a soft laugh, "but you ignored me."

"I didn't hear you. I was completely in my own world by that point."

"You know, I think this was the fastest, smoothest birth I've ever participated in. Consider yourself lucky."

"Didn't feel particularly fast or smooth," Toph said absently. The soothing healing sensation was making her mind wander away from the conversation. A few hours ago, she'd been lounging on the beach, thinking about how she still had three more weeks on her own. Now she was lying here holding a baby, a helpless person that relied on her completely. It was...a little overwhelming. A tight pressure began to grow in her chest and she inhaled sharply.

"What's wrong?" Katara asked.

"I– I have a fucking baby," Toph stammered, struggling to hold onto her previous calm. "I don't–"

"Hey, it's alright," Katara soothed, returning to her side.

"I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Neither did I, when Bumi was born."

"Please. You've been a mom your whole life."

"And I was still clueless the first time I held him. Everything I thought I knew flew out of my head and it was just a matter of trial and error. But you've had lots of practice with Tenzin. It'll come back to you, I promise."

"What if I screw up? What if I hurt her? She's so small and fragile."

"Babies are a lot more durable than they seem. You just need to have a little faith in yourself. Where's all that Toph Beifong confidence, huh? You're going to be fine."

Toph closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the pillow, more lost than she'd ever been. But Lin's heartbeat pulsed right next to her own, so close it felt like they were a single body once again.

‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›

A/N: Yeah, she named Lin after…Lin. Wibbly wobbly timey wimey. It's swamp-related. But that's a whole other story ;)