It was after dinner now, and everyone had moved to the living room to relax and wind down from the busy day. It was just Tenzin's family, Kya, Bumi, Lin, Opal, and Bolin.

They were interrupted from their discussions by a knock on the doorway from the same acolyte from earlier that day.

"Sorry to interrupt, but the evening paper was just delivered on the last boat. I thought you may want to see it immediately." They said handing it to Tenzin before bowing and heading out.

Tenzin glanced down at the paper in his hands, eyes widening in shock. Lin realized that Pema must not have shared what happened earlier.

"Ugh Lin, you may want to look at this…" Tenzin said, tearing his eyes from the headline to hand her the paper.

Lin threw the paper on the table after she and Bumi, who had been reading over her shoulder, had finished reading. "Eh… Could have been worse." She said, leaning back into Bumi's side, his arm around her waist and hers on his thigh. They gave each other small smiles before turning and watching everyone else.

Kya scooped up the paper and read aloud the article.

Chief of Police Knocked Up?

It has come to the attention of this reporter that our Iron Maiden of a Police Chief is carrying a noticeable weight gain around her stomach. We finally have a reason as to her unexplained absence for the last 6 weeks. Though it is still small, the bump is still noticeable on the usually lithe and fit Chief. As you can see in the picture above, she is holding a hand to her belly as she walks towards a building, as only expectant mothers do.

If you can recall, she previously was with Airbending Master Tenzin, son of Avatar Aang, for about twenty years. With so long together, it had always been a surprise that they had never gotten married or had children. Then about fourteen years ago, they had a nasty split, with our Chief almost destroying Air Temple Island. The following year, Master Tenzin was engaged to his current wife and within a few years welcomed their first child.

This author cannot help but wonder why now? Why not back then? And who exactly was able to get through to the unapproachable air she always carries about?

We reached out to both the Republic City Police Department, as well as Chief Beifong's legal counsel. We received responses from both.

This statement was given to us through her counsel:

Lady Lin Beifong, Chief of Police, and her partner, Commander Bumi, previously of the United Forces, are pleased to announce that they are expecting a child due this fall.

While this came as a surprise to both, they are overjoyed about their little miracle. Their families are all very excited for them and are happy to welcome a new member.

Mother and child are doing well, and they ask for privacy during this time. An announcement will follow when the baby is born.

Statement from Acting Chief Saikhan:

The Republic City Police Department wishes our Chief congratulations on the news of her impending motherhood.

Chief Lin Beifong has protected this City with fierce strength and devotion since starting as a recruit at age 18. She rose through the ranks quickly through hard work and determination. She has become the best Chief that our City has had, as she cares for the lives of everyone in her City.

We wish all the best to the new mother and baby. We hope the City she has always protected also extends their well wishes, and respects her privacy during this time.

This author must say that they are shocked by the announcement of who Chief Beifong's partner is. Commander Bumi (59), for those who do not know, is the eldest child of Avatar Aang and Master Katara. Yes, dear readers, Master Tenzin's older brother. It seems our esteemed Chief has a type; and that type is the children of Avatar Aang.

We do not know how long they have been together, or exactly how far along the Chief is, though it seems she may be further along than the picture suggests - according to her statement. We do know that she is 51 years of age, and that being pregnant at her age is definitely a miracle.

The statement her counsel has released has also reminded us that she is not just Chief of Police, but also heir to the House of Beifong. Most readers should know already that the current head of the family is Toph Beifong, our original Chief of Police and our current one's mother. Should we expect the newest Beifong heir to also become Chief of Police one day? Only time will tell, dear readers.

With this knowledge, this child will be the grandchild of three of the most prominent heroes of the Hundred Year War, who all are masters of three different bending elements - one being Avatar Aang himself, master of all four. Will they be an air, earth, or water bender? Or perhaps a non-bender like Commander Bumi himself was until Harmonic Convergence. Only time will tell, and we eagerly await the revelation if and when it comes.

While we still have questions, and would love to have all the answers, this author recognizes that our Chief leads a very private life outside of work; so details outside of the statements or any pictures we receive while she is in the City, are going to be all we get.

Above all, The Republic City Herald would like to extend their congratulations to the new parents and many blessings for a healthy child.

"I can't tell if they are for or against you. They go back and forth. It sounds like it comes more from the gossip section than what should be front page news for The RC Herald." Pema said, contemplatively; setting Rohan down in a small padded pen so he could crawl around without getting hurt.

Tenzin's head was slightly red at the mention of their previous relationship and the questions the paper had brought up about it.

Jinora, Bolin and Opal weren't sure how to react and kept watching the adults. Ikki and Meelo were off in the corner playing a game, with no idea of what was going on.

Kya then giggled. "The article at least had one thing right." She glanced up at Lin, then her brothers. "You know, about Lin's type. Though I am sure the writer had no idea how true that is."

Tenzin frowned at Kya. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh just that Lin's type is Avatar Aang's children. Last time I checked, you two aren't the only two." Her eyes twinkled with mirth, exactly like her fathers used to.

"I-you… Lin?" Tenzin stuttered.

Lin blushed red, but shrugged. "I was 16 and curious. I've never cared much about what people look like, it's always been mental and emotional attraction for me. Not my fault that all three of you fit the bill at different times."

Kya smirked at Tenzin's head, getting even redder. "Come on Tenny, it was before you were with her. Plus we always knew we were better as friends. We just had a few months with benefits added to that." She said winking at Lin, who let out a snort.

Tenzin made a choking sound, glaring at Kya before looking at Bumi. He was surprised his brother didn't look bothered by it. "H-how can you just sit there and not react?"

Bumi shrugged and with the arm that was around her, he ran his hand along the side of Lin's bump. "I've known for quite a few years. Kya is very talkative when drunk."

Lin looked over at him in surprise. "Not that I was keeping it a secret, but why didn't you tell me you knew?"

"I figured you would tell me if you wanted me to know. It's not like Kya meant to tell me. By that point she knew how I felt about you and you were still with Tenzin." He shrugged again, before his expression turned mischievous. "You know if it wasn't my sister, I would have very much liked to have wat-"

"There are children in the room." Pema interrupted. Bumi just laughed it off and placed a kiss on Lin's scarred, blushing cheek.

The next morning Bumi and Lin snuck out before dawn so that they could get to the house with little interruptions from the press. Bum-Ju decided to come with them for once, as they didn't always come to the city with Bumi - usually preferring the quieter atmosphere of the Island.

When they arrived on the back of a bison, they noticed a couple of her officers patrolling the street, keeping reporters away. They both nodded to the officers and after sending the bison back, entered the house quickly.

Lin nodded once they locked the door behind them, toeing off her shoes. "I'm heading back to bed, join me?" She held out her hand to him.

"Always." He took her hand and led her upstairs to the bedroom. He helped her take off her coat that she had thrown on over her night dress, as she was starting to drift asleep while standing and tucked her into the bed. She was out before he had pulled up the blanket. He quickly undressed to his boxers and climbed in behind her, wrapping his arms around his love, joining her in dreamland. Bum-Ju curled up in between Lin's arms, settling in for a nice nap too.


They were woken later that morning by a knock at the front door. Lin groaned, pulling the blanket over her head, and then pushing Bumi to go. Bum-Ju chittered, before diving under the blankets too.

Bumi sighed and got up, pulling on the discarded sweat pants and long sleeved t-shirt he had worn over to the house this morning. He padded down the stairs and glanced out the little peephole in the door to see Asami, Bolin, and Mako.

He opened the door and bid them entry. He noticed that the two officers from the morning had been replaced by four others, helping make sure they weren't disturbed today. He made a mental note to bring them drinks later.

"We saw the paper last night, and wanted to come this morning to check in on you both. Bolin said you left early this morning to come back." Asami said with slight concern on her face.

"We're doing fine. Why don't you get settled in the living room, I will put a kettle on and wake Lin." He smiled at them.

"You get Lin, I will get the tea ready." Asami said before heading to the kitchen, not allowing him time to argue. Bumi shrugged to the boys and left to head back upstairs.

He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the blanket down off Lin's head where it had stayed in the few moments he had left. He laid a hand on her unscarred cheek and gently caressed it, hoping to wake her gently. When she started stirring he spoke. "Linny, your adopted kids are downstairs."

Lin blinked up at him, not really processing what he said in her tiredness. "What are they doing here so early?" She asked, voice hoarse from sleep.

Bumi looked at the clock on her bedside. "Love it is almost 11 in the morning." He offered his hand to help her sit up. She accepted it and sat up for a moment to make sure her stomach wasn't going to protest the change.

"I can't believe I slept so late. I can't remember the last time I slept for so long for no reason." Of course there had been times when she had been injured, or when she passed out after the fight with P'Li, but they didn't count. The baby decided to make itself known at that moment, kicking her in the side.

Lin rubbed the spot gently, luckily it didn't hurt yet, but she was sure in a few more weeks those kicks would get harder and harder.

"Are they moving again?" Bumi asked, an excited smile on his face at the prospect. It was only a couple weeks ago that he had finally been able to feel the baby move.

"Hmm… Here." She grabbed his hand and placed it where she felt the kicking. Only a moment later did he feel a soft movement under his palm.

Every time Bumi felt the soft kick, he felt in awe of both the little life that was growing and the woman who was growing this little life.

After a moment, Lin spoke. "Sorry Boom, but if I don't get up, this kid is going to make sure I wet the bed." Bumi laughed and helped her off the bed.

"Get dressed and meet us downstairs. Asami was organizing the tea, I'll make sure to have something ready for you to eat as well." He said before she entered the washroom.

He joined Asami in the kitchen, making a large bowl of fruit salad that should tide them till they made lunch in the next hour or so. He made enough for the three teens as well.

Lin came down the stairs as they were carrying the drinks and food into the living room. She wore a pair of black draw-string sweatpants and a loose green shirt. Bum-Ju was currently on her shoulder.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but why are you here?" Lin said, approaching the seat beside Asami. Bumi sat in the armchair; Mako and Bolin were on dining chairs they had pulled into the room.

"We um, just wanted to see if you were okay with what the paper printed. Bolin didn't tell us much of what happened last night." Mako said, hand rubbing the back of his neck.

Lin glanced at Bolin who had a faint blush on his cheeks as he focused on spooning some fruit salad into a bowl. She then looked to Asami and Mako, seeing their truly concerned faces.

"It was going to happen sooner or later. Saikhan had called giving us a heads up in the early afternoon and we were able to send a statement in before the evening paper was printed."

"Well I am glad you knew in advance." Asami smiled at her, before frowning at Bolin. "Why was that so difficult to tell us?"

"I-uh-well…" for once Bolin wasn't sure how to proceed.

Lin rolled her eyes, and took the bowl of fruit and cup of tea Bumi handed her. "Kya shared about our previous relationship - not that it really was anything of the sort. I suppose we have made him uncomfortable."

Bolin shook his head. "I didn't mean to seem like that, I just didn't want to share if you didn't want them to know. I know I am not the best at keeping secrets, so I thought not talking was the better option. Please know that I don't judge people like that." He looked so worried that he had offended Lin.

Lin smiled at him. "Don't worry kid. But thanks for trying to protect my privacy, it is appreciated."

Bolin beamed at her, relieved he hadn't offended her.

As Lin ate some of her fruit, she glanced between Mako and Asami, who both had shocked looks on their faces. But they both smiled at her, so she knew they didn't have an issue.

Bumi started talking about a probending match that had taken place the other day, drawing the boys into the conversation. Lin noticed Asami half paying attention to the conversation as she poked at the fruit she had in her bowl.

Lin glanced at Bumi to see that he had noticed as well. "What do you say about us guys going and picking up some lunch? Maybe we could grab a game or something on the way so we could play."

The boys quickly agreed and waved the girls off as they left.

Lin turned to Asami and noted she had barely registered that the others had left. She reached over and took the bowl and spoon from the younger woman's hands.

"What's wrong Asami?"

"How did you know?" came a soft voice.

Lin had a feeling where this was going, but wanted Asami to ask for herself. "Know what?" She responded, careful to keep her voice gentle.

After a moment, it seemed the girl finally got the courage to speak again. "How did you know you were attracted to Kya?"

Lin took a moment to contemplate what to say. "I think it started at a fairly young age. For all three of them I suppose. To me, I am attracted to others by their personality; who they are as a person. Looks are great and all, but appearances change, we age, we get scars..." Lin fingered her twin scars on her cheek. "Kya was always a free spirit, and in her youth had an ethereal aura to her in more than just her outward beauty. She was the opposite to myself in many ways, and while it never turned into anything more than a handful or two of passionate - uh sleepovers - I never regretted it."

Lin watched Asami mull over what she had said. "For what it is worth, I think you and Korra compliment each other well."

Asami's eyes flew up to meet hers, eyes widened. "I- what? Korra?"

Lin raised an eyebrow at her. "Correct me if I'm wrong, which I doubt, but the way you have been acting since Korra left is similar to how I acted when Bumi left to the Forces. I think we know how we turned out." Lin said, placing a hand on her baby bump. "Look kid, give her time, she is in a bad place right now but won't be forever. Keep writing, show her you are there for her. And when she returns, don't wait like Bumi and I did."

Asami gave up trying to deny her feelings. "But… what if she doesn't feel the same?"

"Then you continue to be a great friend to her. It will be hard, yes, but you have to ask yourself if it would be harder to live your life with her as a friend or harder not to have her in your life at all." Lin put her hand on Asami's shoulder. "While it is different circumstances, I do regret the rift that came from my split with Tenzin. I refused to speak with him, but in doing so I also stopped talking with Kya, Bumi, and Katara. At that point I had no sister or mother to turn to, both long gone at that point. I had never realized before how little I interacted with anyone other than them and my colleagues.

"No matter what though, I'll be here. As will Bumi and this baby."

Lin didn't have a chance to blink before Asami was suddenly in her arms sobbing. Lin just wrapped her arms around the girl, gently rubbing her back soothingly. 'Is this what being a mother is like? Do I- do I see Asami as a daughter?' Lin frowned at that thought, but realized it didn't make her anxious like she thought it would. In fact, it made her heart warm a bit instead.

Asami pulled back after a bit and wiped her face with her sleeves. "Thanks Lin." She sniffled. "I don't know what I would have done if I had kept that in any longer."

Lin patted her knee. "Don't mention it kid."

Asami gave her a small smile. "You know, for not doing relationship advice or 'girl-talk', you did pretty well." Lin huffed, but gave the girl a smirk of amusement. "You are going to be a great mother."

Lin was touched by this. "Well with you three showing up all the time, I feel like I am getting good practice in."

The boys arrived back a little while later, finding the two with a new pot of tea and in a deep discussion about new possible road options.

"Grubs here." Bumi called into the living room as he went through to the dining room. Mako went with him to grab plates and utensils out.

"Ooh you guys are never going to believe what we found! Here, look! It's a game called Sozin's Comet and you have to work as a team to defeat Fire Lord Ozai before he destroys the world! Just like the original Team Avatar!" Bolin said excitedly.

Asami laughed as she got up. "You do realize that they weren't the original Team Avatar right? There have been 10,000 years with so many different Avatar's, each with their own team."

"I meant the original in our little world since we are in the house of two descendants of Avatar Aang's Team. Geez, you spoil the fun sometimes you know that?" Bolin pouts.

Asami ruffles his hair affectionately. "Don't worry Bo, I think it still sounds like a fun game. Now shall we go eat?"

Lin got up, hating that it took more effort than she would have liked. She followed Asami past Bolin, but not before giving him an affectionate punch to the arm. She smirked at the "hey!" that he called out as he rubbed his arm.

The five had a much more lively afternoon than the morning, enjoying the good food. Lin had to admit the game was much better than she had expected when she heard Bolin's description. It was a critical thinking game that actually worked for all of them and they worked well together to win it. She also had to admit that she was beginning to see all three as more than just Korra's friends. She wasn't sure if she should feel worried about that or not.


That evening after the kids had left, Lin and Bumi were enjoying a relaxing cup of his new moon peach tea on the sofa.

"You know, I hate to admit it, but those three are growing on me." Lin said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I am pretty sure you have already informally adopted them. Tonight proved we already have our own little family."

Lin choked up a little. "Is it wrong to wish they were ours? I am just - I am starting to get this feeling… I don't want to take away from their parents, but those boys basically grew up alone, and Asami without a mother figure for many years. Toph wasn't the greatest mother, but she was at least there as I grew up, and I had your mother for everything else." She sighed, turning her face into his shoulder. "I can see bits of both of us in each of them and it makes me wonder what would have been if we had found each other decades earlier."

"I wouldn't be so worried. Just as you said you had my mother as well as your own. You can view more than two people as parental figures. I know we both saw Uncle Sokka as more a father than an Uncle. I'm pretty sure the three already look to you as a mother figure now. The best thing you can do is just be there, as you have been doing. Not to mention, as much as I wish we had not wasted time, then we wouldn't be here right now; I wouldn't trade this for the world." He said, laying a hand on her belly, and placing a kiss to her cheek.

"How did you get so wise?"

Bumi laughed. "Well it all started with a boomerang, a tightrope, and a tigerdillo-" he was interrupted when Lin hit him with a pillow from the couch.

He grabbed the teacup from her hand before smothering her face in kisses. She uncharacteristically giggled as his beard tickled her skin. She tried pushing him away while still laughing. He suddenly stood with her in his arms, bridal style.

"What are you doing? Put me down!"

"I don't think so. I think it's time I cashed in on that passionate night we were supposed to have for my birthday. Good thing we have no plans tomorrow, I expect we'll have another late morning."

Lin blushed, but wrapped her arms around his neck. If he wasn't going to put her down, she at least wasn't going to make it easy for him. She nibbled and kissed his ear and neck that was within her reach, causing him to fumble slightly on their way to the bedroom.