A/N: For the next few chapters, anytime Lin has dialogue, please keep in mind that I have 'translated' it because I refwuse to type wike dis. (Ugh.) In reality, she's still baby/toddler-talking. My only concession to this is 'Unco Sock' because it's cute, dammit.

Also, just wanted to let you know the timeline will be picking up from now on! I know I dragged out the whole 'baby Lin' thing over way too many chapters, but I'm [almost] over it XD

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There was only one thought in Toph's mind: She had to hold on. Her senses were overloaded, no difference between sound and touch and earthbending. Everything blurring together. The world shattering, splintering. She couldn't hold on much longer. Millions, billions of tiny shards, hearts beating inside them.

WHUMP

The screaming wasn't right. It didn't make sense. It was dragging her away…

Toph jerked awake, panting and sweating, the sound of Lin's screams rattling her brain. Something was...off, but she couldn't think straight. The dream was still with her, clinging to her awareness. Explosions. Death. Pain. Lin screaming. What's going on?

She finally woke up enough to have the presence of mind to get out of bed. The second her feet hit stone, she knew what was wrong: Lin was out of her crib, on the floor. Toph rushed over and picked her up without thinking, still a little groggy, and the screaming intensified.

"Fuck," she muttered, trembling. "Fuck." She didn't know what to do. Had Lin hit her head? How did she even fall out? "What did you do, kid? You're supposed to stay in your crib." She put her on the bed and carefully started running her hands across the small body. Nothing jumped out as being horribly wrong, but Lin wasn't calming down even a little bit.

Toph wracked her foggy brain. This was beyond her. She needed someone else. Katara. Yeah, Katara was a healer. She quickly got dressed, wrapped Lin up in a blanket, and headed out the door, intending to go to the docks.

The brisk spring air woke her up a little more and she realized going to the Island in the middle of the night was idiotic. She needed to go to the hospital; it was much closer. Unfortunately, there were no streetcars this time of night. She hadn't bothered to get the pram out, hoping to find a carriage along the way, but ended up having to walk the whole twelve blocks. Lin finally did calm down a little, which was encouraging, but the crying would start up again any time Toph had to shift her a little.

Her arms were burning with fatigue by the time they made it to the hospital. The reception area was surprisingly busy and noisy, given the late hour, and she spent five minutes standing in line before she finally got fed up and stalked up to the front.

"Excuse me! I need to talk to someone now!" The others around her made angry, indignant noises but Toph plowed right over them. "She fell out of her crib and I have no idea what's wrong with her. Could've cracked her skull open, for all I know! I can't risk standing here for an hour waiting!" Based on the murmurs, people were starting to realize who she was.

"Alright," a woman calmly, coming around the desk. "I'll just look her over real quick."

There were lots of grumbled complaints ('That's not fair!' 'Why doesn't she have to wait her turn like everyone else?' 'Just because she's the Chief of Police, why does she get special treatment?'). Toph ignored them all.

"I don't think she hit her head," the woman said after a brief examination. "She doesn't appear to be seriously injured. We're very short-staffed tonight, so there's going to be a little bit of a wait. Please have a seat over there and someone will see you as soon as they can."

"Can't you see she's in pain?" Toph protested.

"I'm sorry, but we have to triage people based on the severity of the injury or illness. Please have a seat."

Toph frowned deeply, but the woman appeared to be unmoved. "Fine." If nothing else, sitting allowed her to rest her aching arms, and Lin did seem to be settling down finally. Still, it annoyed Toph that her position didn't afford her some small perks like being rushed through in these sorts of situations. She had an important job to do and needed her sleep. Maybe I should've just gone to the Island. At least Katara wouldn't make me wait.

"Where Bamo?" Lin blubbered, barely coherent.

"Bamo? What's that?"

"Bamo!"

"I don't know what that is."

Lin just buried her face in Toph's shoulder and bawled. Half an hour later, they were finally taken to a small exam room, then made to wait for another ten minutes. She was just about to get up and go find someone when the door opened.

"Hello. So sorry for the wait, Chief Beifong. My name is Akara. I understand she fell out of her crib?"

"Yeah. Didn't think she'd figure out how to climb out so soon," Toph muttered, feeling a little defensive. "I didn't wake up until she start screaming."

"How old is she?" Akara asked, folding back the blanket to examine Lin where she sat in Toph's lap.

"One."

"How many months?"

"Um…" She had to think about it for a second, having stopped counting after a year. "Fif…teen…? Yeah, fifteen. I mean, fuck, she's not even walking yet. But she can climb out of her crib?"

"Hm. Looks like her elbow is dislocated."

"What?" Toph said, dismayed. "That sounds serious."

"Don't worry, it's easily fixed. Make sure you've got a good grip on her."

There was faint pop, followed by Lin shrieking and thrashing, then the liquid sound of water being bent.

"What am I supposed to do now, if she can get out?" Toph asked, hating how guilty and helpless this made her feel. Lin was suffering and there was nothing she could do about it. Can't even keep my kid safe in my own house.

"Well, once children are able to get out of their cribs, that means it's time to transition to a bed. Although for most, that isn't until closer to two years," she added with a laugh. "You're doing so well, little one. That's better, huh? Have you learned your lesson about climbing?"

"Doubtful, if she's anything like me."

"You can put her crib mattress on the floor for now. Or she can sleep in the bed with you, if it's not too high off the floor. Just make sure you line the far side with pillows so she doesn't roll off in her sleep."

"I like the crib," Toph lamented. "Keeps her contained. Or it did, anyway."

"Alright, well, I'm all done," Akara said a few minutes later. "Good as new. I've checked her over and can't find any other injuries."

"Thanks." Toph stood up and shifted Lin to her hip. "Ready to go home, Spider Monkey? Hopefully, I can get a couple more hours of sleep before I have to get up again."

By the time they got home, Lin was whining for a bottle – and 'Bamo' still, whatever that was – so that was another half hour of lost sleep while Toph heated up the milk, Lin crying on the floor at her feet. Then she lined some pillows up on the far edge of her bed and grabbed Lin's stuffed animal from the crib.

"Bamo! Bamo!"

"...Oh. Bamo. Badgermole. Spirits, I'm a dumbass." She climbed into bed and curled up next to Lin, who snatched the toy up and settled in to drink her bottle. Before long, she was passed out; Toph put a hand on her warm chest, feeling it gently rising and falling. "Could get used to this," she murmured. "Never did like sleeping alone."

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"Alright," Toph said to Katara, having just spent the last thirty minutes cleaning up a very messy diaper blowout while she and Lin hung out on the Island one weekend afternoon. "I'm so ready for this whole potty-training thing. Lay it on me. Give me your knowledge."

"She's barely eighteen months, Toph," Katara said with a light laugh.

"So what?" She put Lin on the floor to play with Tenzin before sitting on the couch.

"She's not even walking yet."

"Again, so what?"

"Hey, I'm not saying it's impossible. But if you try to force it before she's ready, you'll just end up frustrating yourself, and her. If you want to start trying, go for it, but you have to be patient."

"How long does it take?"

"Bumi started at two and it took him the better part of a year. Kya got the hang of it in a month, but she didn't start until she was two and a half. Tenzin has shown some interest but we're taking it slow. There's no formula."

"Lin is smart. She's already putting sentences together. I'm sure she can figure it out quick."

"Well, just make sure Sora's on board, because she'll be doing most of the work. And don't frown at me like that. You're the one that chose to continue working a full-time job. You really want to be at home with Lin all day, every day? Because it's not easy. Honestly, I envy you sometimes. Would be nice to get a break every now and then."

Toph wondered if her friend was contemplating the possibility of having to add yet another kid to her brood if Tenzin turned out to not be an airbender. Just the thought of being in that position made her shudder. "I was under the impression that's what husbands are for."

"I'm not saying he doesn't help. It would definitely be infinitely harder without him, but he's so busy that it's pretty much impossible for him to be able to take them all for an entire day. And there are plenty of times that he's gone for days on end."

"I know. I was mostly joking."

"I sometimes wish Sokka had never accepted a position on the Council. Those first few weeks that he was back were amazing. He keeps talking about getting his own place downtown and I'm honestly dreading that."

Lin crawled over and used Toph's leg to pull herself to her feet. "Where Unco Sock?"

"Good question. Why isn't he here yet?" she asked Katara.

"Who knows? He's almost as much of a workaholic as you are."

"Mama! Up!"

"Go play with Tenzin."

"No! Up!"

Toph sighed, pulled Lin onto her lap, and gave her her meteorite bracelet to play with. "You know, when he was still trying to decide whether or not to accept the nomination, he mentioned how much he would like being a 'stay at home uncle'."

"Let me guess– you talked him out of it?"

Lin suddenly chucked the bracelet. Katara gasped and Toph caught it with her bending just before it hit Tenzin in the head.

"Lin!" Toph said severely. "No throwing!" Unsurprisingly, Lin immediately started bawling. "Fuck's sake. She always loses her mind the second she's told off."

"I think it might have been your tone more than anything."

"Give me a break, Sugar Queen. I hear you use that tone with your kids all the damn time. Excuse me for reacting strongly to her nearly giving your son a concussion."

"I wasn't–"

But Toph had already gotten up and was halfway out of the room, keenly aware that the argument was only further upsetting Lin. She wandered around outside for a little while until noticing Riju coming up the hill.

"Someone's not happy," he said once reaching them.

"You wanna go to Uncle Riju?" Toph said in a hopeful, saccharine voice. "Mama needs a break and a stiff drink before dinner."

"No," Lin whined, holding on even tighter when he tried – and failed – to take her.

"Why's she so upset?"

"She threw something at Tenzin and I told her off. I know, I'm a terrible mother."

"Clearly," he chuckled.

"So what's your big announcement?"

"Nope, you'll have to wait 'til dinner to find out."

"I swear to fuck, Riju, if you're planning on telling us you've knocked up my nanny, I don't even wanna hear it."

"Wh–" He let out a wounded noise. "No, it's nothing like that."

"That's a relief. I've been a little worried since you told me you had news."

"That would be a pretty shitty reaction if it was true."

"I was joking," Toph lied, not eager to get into yet another argument and upset Lin again. She had finally settled down and was quietly babbling to herself.

"What's she saying?"

"I think it's a nursery rhyme Sora taught her. Something about turtle-ducks and a pink basket. I usually can't make out much of it." She shifted Lin around to check her watch. "Wonder where Sokka is. Have you heard from him?"

"No, sorry."

"Unco Sock here?"

"Not yet." Lin started whining again and Toph sighed. "I think I'm gonna take a walk. If you go inside, prepare to be roped into helping cook dinner."

"Where are Bumi and Kya?"

"Bumi's wandering around near the house and Kya's in her room."

"Aang?"

"Still in Ba Sing Se."

"I thought he was coming back yesterday?"

"Yeah, well. Avatar stuff. Anyway, I'll be back for dinner." Toph walked around until she found somewhere suitably flat and secluded from tourists and put Lin down. "I wish you'd start walking," she said, sitting cross-legged on the ground. "You're getting too big."

"I little."

"Nope, you're a chubby, stubborn monster."

Lin crawled a little ways away, then came back a minute later and put a handful of dirt in Toph's hand.

"Dirt? My favorite!" She raised her hand to her mouth and blew the dirt at Lin, but held it in the air with bending before it hit her face, resulting in an enthusiastic cackle. "How do non-benders manage to entertain their kids? Seems like it would be a lot more work."

Ten minutes later, she noticed a few people disembarking from the ferry. A moment of focus told her that one of them was Sokka and that he was limping. "What the fuck?" she muttered, getting up. "C'mon, Lin. Your favorite person is here. Let's go see what dumb shit he got himself into today."

Lin went nuts when they got close enough for her to see him.

"If you don't be still, I'm gonna put you down and make you crawl the rest of the way," Toph grumbled, knowing it was futile. Lin would probably do it and end up tumbling down the hill in her excitement.

"Coming down to meet me?" Sokka called. "What's the occasion?"

"Dada!" Lin squealed, still trying hard to get to him.

"No, Lin," she said with a sigh. "It's Uncle Sokka. I know you know that."

"Hey, kiddo." He plucked Lin from her arms. "What are you doing to your mom, huh? She looks very annoyed."

"Where have you been? And why are you limping?"

"Ah…" He let out a little awkward chuckle then groaned softly. "Long story."

They started slowly walking back up the hill. "Well, we've got plenty of time, judging by how long it's going to take us to get back to the house at the rate we're going."

"Oh, tell me more," Sokka said in response to Lin saying something mostly incoherent about Tenzin. "Mm. Mhmm. Oh, yes, very interesting."

"Stop avoiding my question, Meathead."

"Um, excuse me, I'm having a conversation with Lin right now. Don't be rude."

"If you weren't clearly injured and holding my kid right now, you would see far less restraint from me."

"Guess I was fated to get my ass kicked today by one person or another," he muttered.

"What the fuck happened?"

"It wasn't that big a deal. I was leaving City Hall and saw someone steal a woman's bag, so I chased the guy but he ran to his buddies. I didn't want to kill anyone, especially so publicly, so I took a little bit of a beating before the cops showed up."

"Not that big a deal?! Are you fucking kidding me?! WHY didn't someone come get me?!" Toph demanded, incensed.

"Because it literally just happened. They tried to take me to the hospital but I didn't want anyone to worry so I came straight here. Obviously, someone would have let you know, but I was coming anyway so it was pointless to send a message."

It was such a rational answer, and yet Toph couldn't unclench her fists.

"What's the matter, Lin?" Sokka said when she started to whine again.

"She's tired. She doesn't nap well when she's expecting to see you, which is pretty much anytime we come here."

By the time they made it to the house, his limp had gotten worse and they were moving at a crawl. He sunk awkwardly into a chair, still holding Lin. "Ah, fuck. Could you get Katara?"

"Yeah. Just watch her."

"Don't think she's going anywhere. She's just about fallen asleep."

"Great. Sleeping at five-thirty. Just what I need." She found Katara, Riju, and Tenzin in the kitchen. The pleasant aroma of cooking food improved her mood the tiniest bit. "Sokka's here. He got himself beat up and needs you to see to him."

"What?! Here, stir this," Katara said before rushing out.

"I hope she was talking to you," Toph called to Riju as she left the kitchen.

"Spirits, Sokka! What happened?!"

"Shhh. Lin's sleeping."

"It's fine, Meathead. Gonna have to wake her up to eat, anyway."

"Can you take her?"

The next half hour was a chaotic mess of Lin crying, Katara chewing out her idiot brother while healing him, Riju periodically sticking his head into the living room to ask her questions about the food, and Bumi and Kya deciding to be hyper and chase each other around the house. When Toph tried to escape at the beginning, Katara begged her to mind Tenzin so Riju could have some hope of keeping dinner from being ruined.

Finally, they all made it to the table, with Sokka trying to coax an overtired Lin to eat.

"And you ask me why I don't come over for dinner more often," Toph said dryly.

"I can't do everything by myself," Katara snapped. "I'm only one person."

"What about the acolytes?"

"What about them? They're not my servants."

"Alright," Riju said firmly. "Before you two get each other upset, I want to tell you all my news."

"Are you going to be the new Chief of Police?" Bumi asked.

"What?" Toph said sharply. "Hello, Gremlin, I'm sitting right here."

"Well, I thought maybe you're retiring."

"You think I'm old enough to retire?" she asked, a little offended.

"Anyone older than twenty is old."

"Pfft."

"I think anyone older than ten is old," Kya interjected.

"I'm not replacing our esteemed Chief," Riju said. "Though I can't say I'd mind a promotion," he added under his breath; Toph just cocked an eyebrow in his direction. "No, my big news is that, thanks to the revenue from the exhibition match last year, Zihao and I have finally completed our plans and got the go-ahead to break ground on a new Sport Bending arena!"

Everyone was quiet for a couple of seconds.

"Really?" Toph said. "That's your big news? You're just building a bigger space?"

"Wh– No, you guys don't get it," he protested, sounding deflated. "An arena. It's going to be massive. Five times the size of City Hall. We're going to have a real, professional league!"

That got a much bigger reaction from everyone.

"I didn't realize it had brought in enough money for something like that," Katara said. "Where will it even be? There's no room in the city for something that big."

"It's going to be built over the bay."

"Meathead, you had to have known about this."

Sokka laughed. "Of course I knew. You act like I'm incapable of keeping a secret."

"We're completely restructuring it," Riju said excitedly. "New name and everything! If all goes well, six months from now, you'll all get to attend the first-ever Pro-bending match!"

Everyone seemed really interested in hearing more but Toph couldn't help but feel a little bummed. This had been her get-over-Sokka project, and now it was completely unrecognizable. Sport Bending was no more.

"We're already recruiting," Riju continued. "There'll be dedicated teams and special uniforms. The fighting ring will be surrounded by a giant pool. It'll completely change the definition of a knockout! And it'll be so much more fast-paced and exciting for the crowd since they'll be a little farther away and therefore safer, allowing for more intense fights."

"Can I play on a team?" Kya asked.

"Maybe when you're older."

"Much older," Katara added.

"C'mon, Lin," Sokka said over her whining. "Just a few more bites?"

"Don't bother," Toph said, getting up. "I'll get her a bottle and put her to bed."

Riju followed her into the kitchen. "You ok? You seemed a little less than enthusiastic about my news."

"It all sounds great," she said, feeling a little bad. He'd been so excited and proud.

"Don't worry, I've made sure there'll still be an option for casual players a few times a month. I know you don't have that much free time these days, but I also know you really enjoy it."

"Well. I'm not super eager to risk getting knocked out into a pool of water, unlikely as it is."

"Ah…fuck. I– I didn't even think about that." He sounded completely crestfallen. "It's meant to be a safety feature."

"Don't worry about it. Like you said, I don't really have much time for it these days. If I'm not at work, I'm trying to be a half-decent parent and not pawn her off onto someone else, even though I want to, half the time. A few hours. That's my limit before I start to get annoyed and frustrated, and just want to relax or do something actually fun."

"Hey. You need to stop being so hard on yourself. She's a healthy, happy kid. You're doing just fine. Now buck up. It freaks me out to see you like this. It's unnatural."

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"You know," Sokka said quietly, Lin in his arms while he walked back to the others, "I don't mind if you call me Dad. I really don't. But your mom does mind, so let's keep it our little secret, ok?"

Lin just giggled and bounced up and down excitedly, fresh from a nice long nap.

"Hey, look who's awake," Aang said while Kya squealed happily atop a modified air scooter.

"Dad, c'mon, when's my turn?" Bumi complained.

"No, no! It's still my turn!"

Sokka went to Katara and sat down, letting Lin crawl over to Tenzin. As usual, he was playing peacefully with some wooden blocks. It became slightly less peaceful with the new arrival, though.

"Lin, don't be a bully," Katara said. "You need to share."

Sokka saw Lin's lower lip tremble a little, but she seemed to recover quickly when Katara didn't say anything more.

"I'm going to need to go inside and start dinner soon," she continued. "Will you be able to watch them?"

"I think I'll manage. I mean, Tenzin can practically babysit himself."

"It's Lin I'm worried about. She'll take all his toys and run if given half a chance. Well, not run, obviously. But you know what I mean."

"Mm. And he wouldn't do a thing to stop it."

"Are you talking shit about my kid?" Toph called, coming up behind them. Lin's reaction to her voice was immediate and she quickly scuttled over. "My sweet, innocent child who cries if you even think about getting upset with her?"

"Doesn't stop her from terrorizing Tenzin," Sokka said. "How'd everything go with your little crisis?"

"It's fine. There were some injuries but nothing serious. Just a mountain of paperwork that I didn't quite get through. But I was getting a headache so I said screw it and left."

"Ok, ok, now it's my turn!" Bumi yelled.

"Alright." Aang brought Kya to a stop and gently lowered her to the ground. "Ready?" he asked Bumi.

"Yeah!"

Toph put Lin back down with Tenzin and sat with a tired sigh, reclining onto the grass with her arms crossed behind her head.

"Lin!" Tenzin complained a few minutes later after she knocked over his little tower, looking more riled up than Sokka had ever seen him. He frowned and pushed her arm away.

"No! Mine!" she said, trying to pick up several blocks at once.

"Lin, you need to share," Katara said sternly.

"Hey, don't tell my kid what to do."

"Toph–"

And then all the blocks Lin was holding flew out of her hand. Sokka gasped and sat up straight. It had happened so fast that he wasn't sure exactly what had happened. He glanced over at Katara, who looked truly stunned, then her face broke out into a wide grin and she rushed forward.

"Oh, my baby, my sweet baby airbender!" she gushed, picking him up and hugging him.

"What?" Toph said, sitting up. "What happened? Did he really airbend?"

"What?!" Aang said, whipping his head around. Bumi's air scooter evaporated and he hit the ground.

"Ow! Dad!" he complained, rubbing his backside.

"Sorry. You ok?"

"Fine..." Bumi grumbled.

The word had barely passed his lips when Aang hurried over to Tenzin and Katara, the latter of which was sobbing.

"I wanna see!" Kya said, butting in. "Make him do it again!"

Tenzin, who seemed to be loving all the attention, was put back down and for a few minutes, Aang tried to get him to recreate the feat. Even Toph seemed somewhat interested in what was going on, standing there with her arms crossed.

"C'mon, honey, you can do it," Katara encouraged, wiping her eyes.

"Just knock it out of my hand," Aang said. "Just like before."

"Mama!" Lin yelled.

Sokka glanced over to see her standing outside the little clump of people, stomping her foot angrily.

"Not now," Toph said absently.

"Um, T?" Sokka said. "I think you might want to pay attention to her."

"Huh? What is it, Lin?" Once Toph's focus was pulled from everyone fussing over Tenzin, Lin started toddling towards her. "Well, shit," Toph said, her face lighting up. "Turns out you can walk, after all. All you needed was a little competition."

"She's definitely your kid," Sokka joked while she scooped Lin up, a big grin on her face. He was playing it cool, but on the inside, he felt like a proud dad. Meanwhile, everyone else was completely ignoring them.

"Hey, you guys," Toph said, mouth twisted petulantly. "Lin finally started walking, in case anyone cares."

"What? Really?" Katara said. "That's great!"

Sokka suddenly noticed Bumi was missing. It wasn't a surprise, but he felt terrible for not realizing it sooner. "T, where did Bumi go?" he asked quietly.

She frowned a little, then stomped the ground and pointed. "That way. Behind the men's dorms."

"Think I might go talk to him."

"Yeah, good idea."

He quietly slipped away to search for his nephew; Aang and Katara didn't notice any more than they'd noticed Bumi leaving. Sokka sighed, knowing there was a good reason for it but annoyed with them all the same. Ten minutes later, he found Bumi sitting against the wall, hugging his knees, face calm but wet with tears.

"Hey, mind if I sit down?"

Bumi just shrugged. Sokka sat but wasn't sure what to do beyond that. Was twelve too old to want to be hugged when upset? He'd always been an affectionate kid, but it was a difficult age. For a minute or so, they just sat there in silence.

"Uncle Sokka?"

"Yeah?"

"...Am I adopted?"

"Wh–" It was the last thing he'd expected Bumi to say. "No, of course not! Why in the world would you think that?"

"What else am I supposed to think? They adopted Riju, who's an earthbender. Kya's like Mom. Tenzin's like Dad. And then there's me. Makes more sense that they picked up another orphan before having Kya. Almost like they thought I might be an earthbender, naming me Bumi."

"I was here when you were born. You are definitely not adopted. They named you Bumi because King Bumi meant a lot to your dad and passed away while your mom was pregnant with you."

"So…then why am I a dud?" His voice broke a little, head drooping down.

Sokka put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "You are not a dud. Look, I'll admit, in this particular case, you kinda drew the short straw. I'm not going to pretend it's any different. But...it's just a random thing. My parents weren't benders. None of my grandparents were benders, either. Maybe a great-grandparent. I'm not sure. What I'm trying to say is that Katara being a waterbender just…happened. It wasn't a family thing. Same with your Aunt Toph. She doesn't have any recent family history of bending. No one knows where it will pop up."

"I think randomly being born a bender is a lot better than randomly being born a non-bender in a family full of benders."

"My point is that there's nothing wrong with you, no more than there's anything wrong with me. I've had a full life, fought with and against benders and held my own. You can make your life whatever you want it to be."

"Did you ever wish you were a bender?"

"Oh, sure. Lots of times. Katara got so much attention when we were kids. I got jealous sometimes."

"But your Dad's a warrior, right? Like you?"

"Yeah. Well, he was. Now we're both politicians," Sokka added with a laugh.

"I'll never be what my dad is. What he wants me to be," Bumi said in a small voice. "I know he was disappointed when I didn't become an airbender."

Sokka didn't know what to say. Bumi wasn't wrong, but he couldn't tell him that. Was lying better…or worse? "Your dad loves you. He would do anything for you."

"He didn't even notice I'd left. Probably still hasn't noticed. Just dumped me on the ground and walked away."

Sokka winced, making a mental note to yell at Aang for that later. It had been terrible timing, but still... "Listen– I'm gonna tell you a secret. You're not supposed to know this until you're older, so you gotta promise not to tell anyone. Ok?"

"Ok...?"

Sokka spit into his hand and held it out; it was a ritual he'd taught his nephew years ago. "You gotta swear," he said solemnly.

Bumi spit into his own hand and they shook on it. "I swear."

"Alright. Here's the truth: Most of the time, us adults do not know what we're doing. No one taught us how to be adults, or parents. Or uncles, in my case. We're just faking it and hoping for the best."

Bumi rolled his eyes and cracked a smile, shaking his head a little.

"We're just...people," Sokka continued. "And we screw things up a lot even when we're trying to do the right thing. In your dad's case, he's desperate to preserve knowledge that the next Avatar will need. It's not favoritism you were seeing, but overwhelming relief. I know you probably don't feel it right now, but one day you might be grateful that you escaped Tenzin's fate. You're a great kid and I know you're going to grow up and do great things. It's in your blood. More than that, it's in your spirit. The part of you that's just you, not something that came from your parents. And whatever you end up doing with your life, I know your parents will be proud of you."

Bumi didn't look entirely convinced. "Will you teach me how to throw your boomerang? I think I'm old enough now."

Sokka rubbed the back of his neck. "Heh. You know, in light of recent events, I think I might be able to swing a change of heart in your mom. We'll see." With any luck, she'll be so guilty she'll say yes to anything.

"I don't understand why she still treats me like a baby. Dad was fighting in the war when he was my age. I can't even leave the Island alone."

"I don't have my own kids, so I'm no expert," Sokka said, Lin's face swimming into his mind. He pictured her growing up, leaving childhood behind and entering adulthood. It terrified him. "But I imagine she's probably struggling a little with the idea of her firstborn becoming a young man. Just give her some time."

"Alright, are you ready?" Toph asked.

"Yeah!" Lin said.

"Ok. Bend your knees. Yeah, just like that." She crouched down and moved Lin's feet apart. "That's your horse stance. Bend your knees a little more."

It had been a long, stressful day at work but Toph was full of energy. Part of the reason she'd been so eager for Lin to finally accept that she had fully functional legs was so that she could start teaching her basic earthbending forms. She'd rushed home, had a hasty dinner, and brought Lin downstairs to spend an hour training before tired crankiness set in.

It would be tricky, though. Toph knew her teaching style might not go over so well with Lin, who was a sissy little crybaby. Well. Maybe it'll toughen her up.

But she didn't last an hour. After only about twenty minutes, she was face down on the stone floor in full tantrum mode. And Toph hadn't even yelled at her or anything.

"I'm not going to pick you up until you calm down a little," she said, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

Through her tears, Lin mumbled something incoherent, but a name stuck out.

"What about Tenzin?"

"He bended the air," was a reasonable facsimile of what Toph was pretty sure she said, between the crying and Lin's tenuous grasp of speech. "I can't."

"You're not an airbender, Scoots. You're an earthbender, like me. Or, you will be one day."

Lin sat up, still whimpering a little. "I'm earthbender?"

"Yep. But you gotta practice every day." She smiled at the thought of Lin bending for the first time. "Guess you need a new nickname, huh? Now that you've decided to start walking. What do you think? What should I call you?"

"Call me?"

"You need a new nickname."

"My name Lin."

"Yeah, that's your name. It's different from a nickname. Like Uncle Meathead."

"Unco Meedead?!" Lin said getting up excitedly.

"I shouldn't have said that," Toph muttered. "Sorry, but no. Not tonight." Predictably, Lin lurched forward into her lap and started crying again. "You're ridiculous. I think it's time for bed."

"No! Don't wanna!"

"Too bad. I'm the mom. Suck it up, buttercup."