If at any point she let go of Lin, Toph's hands started violently trembling. She had never known fear like this, the cold dread clutching her heart. Not when she was hunting down Azula. Not when she was trying to hold an exploded building together. Not even when she was dangling from Sokka's hand, nothing but fire and death below.

None of it compared, or could even come close, because those moments had been underscored by an acceptance – however small – that her own death could be welcomed. But a tangible threat to Lin wasn't something she could even begin to process. The closest she had come to this feeling was the time Lin had choked on a yuan, but that fear had been so fleeting, quickly replaced with relief.

The door opened, admitting two people; she hadn't even noticed them coming up the stairs. Sokka's familiar scent reached her just before he sat down next to her on the couch. For once, Lin seemed content to sit quietly, tightly clutching 'Bamo' (as she still called it), and didn't try to go to him.

"What happened, T?"

"Read the letter." She was vaguely aware of Aang speaking quietly with her officers. Sokka stayed by her side, his hand gripping her shoulder.

"Why don't I make you a cup of tea?"

"Fine."

"Sora?" he said, standing. "You want some tea?"

"Sure."

"Ok. Be right back."

He left for the kitchen, Aang following a few seconds later. The room was deadly quiet, the only sound the shuffling feet of the officers that were carefully inspecting Toph's home for anything suspicious. Part of her wanted to participate, to actually do something useful and productive. But she couldn't make herself let go of Lin.

Aang and Sokka were whispering in the kitchen. Toph knew that, if she tried hard enough, she could probably make out the conversation. It would require too much effort, though. Her mind was too preoccupied, trying to figure out where to go from here.

Eventually, the two men returned and Sokka sat down again, putting a hot mug in her hand. "Aang and I think it would be best if you and Lin come and stay on the Island for a little while. Just to be safe."

"Me, Lin, and twenty of my officers," she corrected in a grim voice. "For when I can't be there."

"If you think you can swing that…I guess it's up to you. But there are lots of White Lotus guards there already."

"Don't care. And I want you to stay there, too," she said in a tone that he couldn't possibly mistake for a casual request. "That letter wasn't just about Lin."

"I was going to, anyway. Sora, you're welcome, too. In fact, I insist on it."

"Do you believe me now?" Toph asked him. "That he should be locked up?"

"I never doubted it, T. You don't really think that, do you? Our hands were tied."

She sighed, too preoccupied to feel much of anything but fear. "I know," she muttered. "I just…"

"Need someone to blame?"

She scowled but had no response. The truth was that she blamed herself far more than anyone else. And there was no satisfaction in that.

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"No, no, it's like this!" Kya said, demonstrating the move.

Sora sighed, a despondent look on her face. "I'm not sure I'm cut out for this."

"You're doing just fine," Katara said. "Kya, why don't you go play for a little while?"

"But I wanna train with you!"

"Then do it quietly."

"Fine…" Kya grumbled, rolling her eyes.

Sokka couldn't help but smile, watching them. "You going to be like that one day?" he asked Lin. "Smart-mouthed and sassy? I bet you will, considering who your M-O-M is." Of course, thinking about Toph only served to remind him of his worries. She was out there right now with only her officers to back her up, by her own insistence.

Lin put another handful of grass and dandelions in the bucket of water she was playing with, then stirred it up with a stick. "Fishes," she said, pointing.

"Fishes?"

"Yeah, in there. You catch them, ok?" She handed him the stick and looked at him expectantly.

"How do I catch them?"

"With the stick!"

"Hm, ok… What kind of fish are they?"

"Umm…chocolate!"

"Oh, chocolate fish? Are we going to cook them for dinner?"

"Yeah, for dinner. Chocolate fishes for dinner! I eat them all!"

While he indulged in her little game, Sokka kept watching the nearby waterbenders. After nearly three weeks of being on the Island and practicing with Katara, Sora was still struggling with basic combat techniques. It was clear that she lacked confidence, which he could hardly blame her for. She was a gentle soul, and she was afraid. It seemed like a minor miracle that she hadn't packed up and left the city. Had Toph somehow convinced her to stay?

"It's alright," Katara said to her when she started getting frustrated. "No one becomes a master overnight, and no one's expecting you to be able to defend against hardened criminals."

"I know. I just…don't like feeling helpless."

None of us do, Sokka agreed silently, wishing he were at Toph's side instead of sitting here, as safe as anyone could possibly be. Even the ferry service had been temporarily shut down, every inch of the shore on constant watch. But Toph wanted him to be here any time he wasn't at City Hall, supposedly to keep Lin safe, though he knew it was because she didn't want to have to worry about his safety while she was trying to do her job.

So he did what she asked so she could focus. The only problem was there was no end in sight.

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"Look, I know this is difficult for you," Ludo said. "But it was only ever meant to be a temporary safeguard. The city relies on the tourism revenue that Air Temple Island brings in. We're coming up on a month now. We have to reopen the ferry."

"So that's it?" Toph seethed. "There's a psychopath out there who threatened my kid's life, and I'm just supposed to go about my day normally like nothing happened?"

"I don't know what you want me to do. Are you planning on keeping her locked up there for the rest of her life? You've always had enemies. There has always been danger. More than likely, the threat you received was just intended to scare you. Throw you off balance. If you let them get to you, they've already won."

The argument continued on for a while after that but just went around in pointless circles. Eventually, Toph had to accept that, in a few days, the Island would no longer be a fortress of safety. It was still safer than anywhere else, of course, but the truth was that Katara was a nervous wreck. That would only get worse when the ferry reopened.

Toph had tried so hard in the last few weeks to make some progress, to get enough evidence to actually put Yakone behind bars – and she was sure he was behind the threat – but all her efforts had come to nothing. Almost every witness had either recanted or change their mind about testifying. Part of her had to accept that Ludo was right: She had to find a way to get back to something resembling normal life.

He's just trying to scare me. He's just trying to scare me. It was a mantra she repeated to herself as she and Lin stepped across the threshold to their home, which had been empty but carefully watched over the past month.

"I wanna go," Lin complained. "Wanna play with Tenzin and Uncle Sokka."

"Sorry, Buttercup. This is our home. And I think Aunt Katara is sick of us."

"She's sick?"

"No, not sick. Sick of us. It means she's tired and wants her normal life back." And doesn't want to have to worry about assassins sneaking over on the ferry, now that it's open again.

A week passed without incident, one of the interrogation rooms converted into a room for Lin to play and nap in. That, along with a bodyguard, had proven to be enough to hang onto Sora. All she had to do was show up at Headquarters in the morning.

Throughout each day, Toph would occasionally tap her foot to see what they were up to. A couple of times now, she had noticed Riju visiting for a few minutes. Was he just there to say hi to Lin or was there still some drama going on between him and Sora?

Occasionally, they would go to the training rooms to watch the recruits hard at work. That's where they were one evening when Toph decided it was time to call it a day. Lin didn't even notice her come in, enthralled as she was with some basic forms Michi was helping her with.

"I swear to fuck, if she starts bending one day when I'm out in the city or shut up in my office, I'm gonna be pissed," Toph joked to Sora, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. In a louder voice, she said, "Michi, you better not be teaching my kid any bad habits!"

Lin immediately ran over to excitedly show her mother what she'd been practicing. "Watch!"

"We can work on that at home. Come on, let's go."

Lin kept up a constant stream of chatter on the way, as was typical for her. Aside from the occasional non-committal noise to keep her going, Toph let her babble away while thinking of other things – mostly work-related.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, walking into one of her usual restaurants.

"No, I already eated."

"Ate. You already ate. And I don't know why I'm even asking. You always end up wanting some of mine, regardless."

"Good evening, Chief Beifong," the man at the counter said. "Are you wanting today's special?"

"Yeah. And an extra side of rice for this bottomless pit next to me."

Ten minutes later, food in hand, they stepped back into the busy flow of pedestrian traffic. Fortunately, Lin wasn't the type to run off. Instead, she stayed glued to Toph's side. And then suddenly, in a flash, she wasn't.

It took a moment for her screams to register, but by then Toph had already reacted. Her cables shot from her hips towards the running footsteps – one for Lin and the other for her abductor. A sharp, burning pain in her leg nearly staggered her, but nothing could pull her focus away from Lin.

She was vaguely aware of other screams around her but they seemed so distant. The space between her and her victim had cleared. One cable brought Lin back to her while the other wrapped around the man's ankles and tripped him. He rolled over onto his back and reached for something. Though Toph sensed no metal, the motion tipped her off and she turned, wrapping her body around Lin, just before a knife went through her armor into her back.

The pain meant nothing. Never had she felt such a calm rage. She whipped around and sharpened the end of her cable into a deadly point, then pressed Lin's face into her shoulder. "Close your eyes, Buttercup."

Sokka saw the fleeing mass of screaming people, panicked looks in their eyes, children crying, and instantly took off running. It only took a minute or so to locate the right street, identified by how empty it was; streets downtown were almost never empty.

He took it all in, one small detail at a time:

A paper bag blowing across the empty street.

Rice spilled on the sidewalk.

Blood pooling from a prone form wrapped in metal cables and partially obscured by a small stone tent made from the sidewalk.

Two alert police officers standing nearby.

And Toph…sitting in an awkward position with Lin in her arms.

Oh, Spirits, no. He ran over, terrified of what he would find but unable to avoid it. "Toph," he croaked out. "What–"

Lin turned her head to look at him, face wet with tears and snot, lip quivering but otherwise calm.

"Oh, thank the Spirits." It was then that he noticed two small knives – one in Toph's leg and the other in her back. "You– You're hurt!"

"It's not as bad as it seems," she said in a voice that was far too serene.

"But– What– What happened?!"

When she didn't answer, he looked to one of the officers for information.

"We're not sure," the woman said. "It happened so fast. We were nearby but didn't see much. Deiro chased after someone, we think. Don't know if he caught them, though. Now we're just waiting on a medical wagon. Thought it best to leave the knives in until a healer can see to her."

Sokka's eyes were once again drawn to the half-hidden body on the sidewalk. Though he couldn't see much, it was still grotesque. So much blood. He pulled his gaze back over to Toph. She had one hand on the back of Lin's head, keeping the young, innocent face away from the carnage. He crouched down next to them.

"Are you ok?" It seemed like a stupid question, all things considered, but he didn't know what else to say.

"Never been better."

It was some relief, at least, that she was not only conscious and talking, but also being her usual sarcastic self.

"Do you want me to take her? Get her out of here?"

"No."

The ride to the hospital was somber and quiet. A healer had removed the knives at the scene and sealed the wounds, but Toph was clearly still in pain, clenching her jaw tightly every time the carriage bounced on the cobbled road.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Sokka asked in an attempt to distract her from it.

"Not here."

"Alright." Instead, he told her all about his very boring day at City Hall, trying to get at least a smile out of her. When that didn't work, he turned his attention to Lin where she sat in Toph's lap, still being held securely. "Did you have fun helping your mom at work this week?"

"Yeah," she said around her thumb, which was currently in her mouth. When had that started up again? He thought she'd outgrown the habit a couple of years ago.

"What sorts of things did you do?"

Lin just shrugged. It was strange for her to be so quiet. Poor kid. She'd really had a hard time of it, lately. How much had she seen of the fight? Was she going to be permanently traumatized?

He sighed and gave up, letting them sit there in peace, desperate to know what had happened but resigned to wait for answers.

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"Oh, there you are," Sokka said, dismayed when he noticed the bottle of booze in Toph's hand. "Um…where did you get that?"

It was odd how one of her favorite places on the Island had an amazing view, though the sunset was fading fast. Her eyes tended to be naturally focused on the distance, and right now it seemed as if she were looking at the horizon, appreciating what she couldn't possibly comprehend.

"Riju."

"Ah." He sat down next to her.

"Lin still sleeping?"

"Yeah, I just checked on them." He laughed softly. "She's got Tenzin in a headlock but he doesn't seem to care."

Toph just nodded and took another swig, some of it spilling down her chin onto her shirt.

"Maybe you should slow down a little," Sokka said.

"Fuck off."

He pursed his lips, trying to be patient with her. It wasn't easy. "Something on your mind?"

"I don't–" But she cut off, shaking her head.

"You don't what?"

"How– What do I do next? How do I get…to the other side?" Her words were starting to come out slurred and a little garbled.

"The other side? Of what?"

"C'mon, work with me here, Meathead." She made a wild, haphazard gesture and spilled some of her drink. "I'm talking 'bout life. My life. My job. Lin. All of it. Do I just…leave? Give up?"

"What? Why would you leave? I mean, I know you're scared–"

"I'm not scared!" She barked out a harsh laugh. "Fuck. I showed 'em. I fucking killed that scumbag and everyone saw. I'm their worst motherfucking nightmare. And I'll happily do it again."

"You might not want to have that attitude during the hearing," Sokka said gingerly.

"Bah. Ludo can go fuck himself in the ass."

"I'm serious, T. You'll be much better off going in there penitent, saying you acted in the heat of the moment and regret your actions."

"But I don't. That would be lying." On the last word she reached out and poked his cheek with her finger.

"Then lie. You really want to risk it escalating to a criminal trial? Even if you're acquitted, your career will be over."

"Well, then I guess me and Lin'll just live a quiet life then, huh? I'll become the pro-est pro-bender ever."

"Please. You don't want that life. You'd be disgraced and miserable. Not to mention bored."

"Well." She took another sip and sighed, swaying a little. "You'll vote in my favor, right?"

"I can't vote. I have to recuse myself."

"That jackass Amaruq will vote against me," she spat. "Yunari probably won't. She's got kids. She gets it, I bet. So it's all up to fucking Ludo. You know what that rat bastard said to me before this happened? He said 'Yakone is just trying to scare you.'" She was jutting her jaw out and mocking the man's deep voice. "'Don't let him get to you. Just go back to your normal life.' I'm gonna make him fucking eat those words." She put the bottle to her lips and started chugging it.

"Toph. Stop," Sokka protested, reaching for it. "You're gonna make yourself sick."

There was a brief struggle and the bottle ended up on the ground, spilling everywhere. He was gripping her arms tightly, trying to keep her from snatching it up.

"Asshole." But there was no anger on her face or in her voice. In its place was a mischievous smirk. Then she lurched forward, bringing her hands up to his face, and planted a sloppy kiss on his lips.

Sokka recoiled in shock, falling back onto his elbows, and she was so unsteady that she came with him. Before he could make any kind of decision on what to do about it, she leaned over and vomited in the dirt, then collapsed onto his chest.

"Fuck," he whispered, trying to process what had happened. The stench of booze and bile was turning his stomach, which had already started to ache from the impression her lips had left on his. How many years since he had felt that? Trying, every day, not to think about how much he wanted it?

With a regretful sigh, he picked her up and carried her inside, pushing away those thoughts. Katara saw him and cocked a curious eyebrow.

"She had a little bit to drink," he explained.

"A little bit?"

"A lot bit. And don't look at me. It was Riju, apparently."

"She won't be happy in the morning," Katara said.

"No, she will not."

"No! I want Mommy!"

Lin's shrill, angry voice pulled Toph out of a deep sleep.

"Oh, fuck," she muttered, clutching her head with one hand and her stomach with the other. She tumbled out of bed, very nearly not making it to the toilet in time. " What the fuck…" For the life of her, she could not figure out why she was so sick. Her groggy mind tried to catch up and retrace the last twelve hours. There wasn't much there.

With her stomach sufficiently empty, she trudged out to the kitchen to ask Katara to make something for the headache. Lin instantly torpedoed into her legs and silently clung to her, thumb in mouth. Toph wasn't entirely sure what to do about that unfortunate regression.

"I think I must've eaten something bad yesterday," she muttered to Katara.

Her friend just laughed derisively. "More like drank something."

"Huh?" But the snarky comment made it all start to come back. "Ohh. Right. I remember now. Sort of. I asked Riju to get me something. And then…I was talking to Sokka…I think?"

"Yeah, he carried you to bed."

"Oh." She scratched her head in confusion, trying to put all the pieces together, but there were too many holes. "I don't suppose you'll take pity on me? I've kinda had a rough week."

Katara sighed. "Fine. Sit down. I'll whip something up."

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"Chief Beifong," Ludo said formally, his voice grave. "The purpose of this hearing is to determine if the incident that occurred on the third of this month warrants a criminal charge."

From her lone chair, positioned in the courtroom in front of the other Councilmembers, Toph sure felt like she was on trial. Never before had she so strongly empathized with Ty Lee.

There were no spectators, but on the benches behind her sat several witnesses that were there to provide testimony. A single member of the press had been invited to observe, as well, which meant anything she said today could end up in the papers.

"The Council will hear your case and take a vote," he continued. "Do you understand that, if we vote in favor of going to trial, your position as Chief of Police will be temporarily suspended?"

"Yes."

"We will begin by hearing a detailed account of the incident, from your perspective."

Toph braced herself. She had replayed it over and over in her mind, but speaking it aloud would be a whole different thing. "I had just left a restaurant – Chang's – with my daughter. Someone grabbed her and tried to run, and I tripped him with one of my cables while using the other to retrieve Lin. Another man attacked me from a distance by throwing a platinum knife into my leg, but instantly ran. Then the first man threw another platinum knife at me. Had I not turned, it almost certainly would have hit Lin instead of me. As the man was still a threat, I had to act quickly to permanently subdue him."

"For the sake of our records, please clarify your last statement."

"You want clarity? I killed the bastard. It was a quick death. He didn't suffer, though he deserved to."

"Do you mean to imply that you executed him?"

"I was full of adrenaline. I did what I had to do to protect my kid, and I'd do it again." She heard a faint sigh come from where Sokka was sitting.

After that, Ludo called up the witnesses, one by one. It was hard to tell whether or not they were sympathetic to her, as they were instructed to speak simply without embellishment or editorialization. Most seemed too traumatized to go into any detail, anyway. Hearing it over and over again was not easy for Toph, and by the end of it an almost unbearable pressure was pressing her down, making her hunch in her chair.

"Having heard all the testimonies," Ludo said, "we would like to hear from you again, Chief Beifong, on why – in your opinion – use of deadly force was necessary and should not warrant criminal proceedings."

Toph almost laughed. At this point, it didn't seem to matter what she said. Ludo had clearly made up his mind.

"When I was a child, I fought in the war. Fought and killed, at the age of twelve, and I've since been praised for those actions. In the seventeen years since I accepted this position, I've been responsible for various deaths in the line of duty. Never once was it personal. I remember them, though. I dream about them sometimes. Not good dreams, either."

She stopped to collect her thoughts. "In order to continue doing my job serving this city, I was told to ignore a threat to my family, the most important person in my world, and treat it as nothing more than a scare tactic. I very nearly paid a heavy price for that. If I'm going to continue living here, serving as the first line of defense against this city's worst – the kind of people who would snatch a three-year-old kid from her mother – then I need to be damn sure that they know who they're dealing with. They sent me a message, and I responded with my own. If the leadership of Republic City disagrees with my methods, I will accept any charge leveled against me and submit my resignation."

The room was utterly silent. Toph could feel the heartbeats of everyone around her, a chaotic rhythm that contradicted the calm atmosphere.

Ludo cleared his throat. "Thank you. We will now deliberate in private. Please remain in the building, as you will be summoned when we have made a decision."

Toph left the room and searched for Aang, who was wandering around with Lin. Originally, he had been waiting outside the door, but after several minutes of her crying loudly, they had walked away. When Toph found them, Lin immediately dashed over and started whimpering to be picked up.

"You're getting too big for this," Toph groaned, her injuries mostly healed but still a little sore.

"How did it go?" Aang asked, sauntering over.

"I dunno. At this point, I don't really care. Whatever happens, happens." She reached up and pulled Lin's thumb out of her mouth. "C'mon, Lin. You're not a baby anymore." But she just whined and put it back in.

"Did they give you a time frame for the decision?"

"Not really. They just told me to stick around." Not for the first time in the last couple of weeks, Toph was tempted to ask him – point-blank – what he thought should happen to her. But every time she opened her mouth to do so, she was reminded that she probably wouldn't like his answer, and that he probably wouldn't appreciate being forced to give it. "Guess it'll probably be an hour or so."

"Do you need me anymore? Will I need to take her again when you go back in there?"

Lin was obviously listening because her grip suddenly tightened. "No. We're done talking about all the…graphic stuff. I'll just take her with me."

"Do you want me to stay, anyway?"

"No, it's fine. I know you're busy." And I know being here and having to deal with this is killing you.

"Ok. Uh…good luck."

She was quite surprised when, only thirty minutes later, they called her back into the courtroom. It felt like a bad sign; a longer discussion would have been more in her favor. She went back to her chair, noting that the witnesses were gone. The room was empty aside from the Council and the lone journalist. Toph tried to get a read on Sokka but his pulse was infuriatingly steady at the moment. Was did that mean?

"Ah…" Ludo began hesitantly. "Perhaps Avatar Aang can look after Lin until we're done here?"

"He had to go," she said simply, sitting down.

"Well. Alright." He cleared his throat. "After careful consideration of the incident, weighed against the responsibilities of the position of Chief of Police, the Council has ruled this loss of life to be self-defense in the line of duty. As such, we have voted against pressing charges."

Toph sagged, honestly shocked by the strength of her relief. All those times she had told herself – and others – that she didn't care what happened… Clearly, those had been lies. She didn't want this part of her life to be over. She wanted the chance to catch Yakone.