Tenzin was awoken by a smaller body making contact with his own in a full body slam. "Dad! Dad, wake up!"

Tenzin groaned and opened his eyes to glare at his 6 year old son. "Meelo what is the meaning of this? You are old enough to know better than to tackle someone who is sleeping."

"But Daddy, you and Mommy were gone last night, and Jinora said the baby was coming. We want to see the baby." Ikki said from her spot where she had woken Pema on her side of the bed.

Pema sighed, rolling onto her back, realizing sleep was not going to be coming back to them this morning. She sat up and pulled Ikki closer to her side and beckoned Jinora from the doorway.

"Sorry, I tried to stop them." Jinora said, ducking her head a little. She bent herself onto the bed near her parents' knees, facing them.

Tenzin sat up, holding Meelo to him. "It's not your fault Jinora." He glanced down at the younger two who still had excited and demanding facial expressions. "Your Uncle Bumi and Aunt Lin welcomed a little boy last night."

Ikki pouted slightly. "I had hoped the baby would be a girl."

"Alright another boy!" Meelo cheered and stuck his tongue out at Ikki, who in return stuck hers out at him back.

"Enough you two." Pema chastised.

"What's his name?" Jinora asked. She was just excited to have a little cousin. Sure they counted Iroh and Ursa as cousins - and she supposed that Opal and her brothers could also be considered cousins too - but this was different as the baby was officially their cousin.

"His name is Haru." Pema answered. "And we need to give them a little while to settle in before you get to meet him. We will check in with them later to see when we can go over to visit, but for now, why don't we go get breakfast started?" Ikki and Meelo pouted at not being able to go see the baby now, while Jinora just nodded and started getting up to help her mom with breakfast.


Lin awoke again to the sound of Haru crying. Bumi was already up and picking him up from the bassinet before she could even open her eyes. She was exhausted still, managing to drift off in between his feedings, but being woken up every few hours did not help much. She felt sore everywhere and was hopeful Kya could help when she got up.

"Shh, buddy it's okay. Let's let Mama wake up a bit before she feeds you huh?" Haru settled a little as his father rocked him and spoke to him quietly.

Lin smiled softly at the sight before her. It was still hard to believe how quiet and calm Bumi could be, but she loved this side of him as much as his crazier side - no matter how much his wackiness could annoy her.

Lin groaned as she shifted into a reclined sitting position on the bed. She commended her sister and Pema for doing this without a waterbending healer multiple times, when she was in this much pain even after being partially healed last night.

She looked up and caught Bumi's eyes. He looked as tired as she felt, but he still gave her a wide smile. "Hey Mama, are you ready for our boy?"

Lin nodded and accepted Haru into her arms. "You hungry little badgermole?" She snorted when he started rooting on her shoulder. "Alright, patience little one." She arranged him properly and watched as he suckled.

Bumi sat beside her on the bed, hand on her knee, watching the bonding moment between his two loves.

After he finished and was burped, Bumi picked him up and took him across the hall to the nursery to change him. He passed Kya on the way and she entered the master bedroom.

"Morning Lin. How are you feeling this morning?" Kya said, setting the bowl of water down on the bedside table on Bumi's side, as the bassinet was in the way on Lin's.

"I won't lie that I am not sore or exhausted. This is definitely a different type of ache than my previous injuries on the job." She said as she shifted further down a bit, resting her head back against the pillows.

Kya kneeled on Bumi's side of the bed, drawing the water from the bowl. "Let's see what we can do about that."

Lin let out a sigh as most of her aches were soothed with the healing water.

"Alright, you should feel much better now. Why don't you go have a shower and meet us downstairs for some breakfast?"

"Thanks Kya." Lin gently got up from the bed, with only a small twinge of discomfort that would take a couple more sessions to finish healing.

After a nice hot shower, she made her way downstairs to the kitchen in a pair of sweatpants and a tank, with a robe haphazardly tied on top.

"Morning!" Bolin said cheerily from the table, he had Haru resting in his arms.

Lin looked up to see Kya finishing up breakfast with Mako's help and Asami setting the large teapot on the table. Bumi was sitting beside Bolin, keeping a watchful gaze on the two.

"Good morning. I hope you all slept well."

"We did, thank you Lin." Asami smiled at her. "Why don't you come sit, breakfast is almost ready." She motioned to the seat beside Bumi.

Lin nodded and went to the chair indicated, appreciating that there was a cushion on it that wouldn't usually be on the chair. She sat gingerly, then accepted the steaming cup of tea Asami handed her. "Thanks kid."

"We should probably call Mom after breakfast. I am sure she would love to know about the birth of her newest grandchild." Bumi said.

"Hmm." Lin nodded in agreement, blowing on the hot tea before taking a sip. "I suppose we should also expect your brother and his brood to come knocking this afternoon."

"Yeah Ikki and Meelo will wear them down fairly quickly I think. Especially when they find out Opal and these guys got to be here last night." Bumi smirked.

Breakfast was a quiet affair, thankfully. Lin wasn't up to doing much talking. Haru had fallen asleep, and Kya had him resting against her shoulder, so that the two new parents could go make their call to Katara.

In the office, Bumi picked up the phone and dialed through to the long distance switchboard so that they could call the South Pole. After a few minutes he was patched through, and from there he was transferred to Katara's house.

After a few rings, the line picked up. "Hello, Katara speaking." Bumi held the phone so that they could both hear and talk into the receiver.

"Hey Mom, it's Bumi, and Lin."

"How are you both doing? Are you feeling okay Lin?"

"I'm doing well Auntie. Actually we had a reason for calling." Lin spoke, then nudged Bumi.

"Mom, I'm a dad! Lin gave birth yesterday evening. A little boy."

"Oh my love's, this is wonderful news! Congratulations! What is his name?" Came Katara's excited response. They could hear she started getting choked up with emotions.

"His name is Haru. It's hard to tell at the moment what features will become more prominent at the moment, but so far he has brown hair and light blue eyes like Bumi. His skin tone will probably fall somewhere between us. He - He's beautiful Auntie." Lin choked out. "I didn't know it would feel like this."

"Oh Lin. He sounds it. Becoming a mother, even a father, is such a special experience. Love for your child is unlike anything else." Katara paused for a moment. "I cannot wait to come up and meet him. I wish I could have been with you both, but Korra… It's not a good time to leave her quite yet. I am hoping in another month she will be well enough that I can leave for a couple weeks."

"How is she doing?" Lin asked, concern showing in her voice.

Katara sighed. "She is still struggling to walk. However, I think it is more mind over matter, as I cannot find anything physically wrong with her. I'm hoping to get through to her soon."

"If anyone can do it, it's you Mom."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, my Bumi." Katara let out a small laugh. "But enough about this. I am so happy for you both. I know you must be exhausted, so I won't keep you. Do try to call me in the next week, I would love to keep updated on how you all are doing."

"Before you go Mom, there is something else we wanted to share." Bumi paused and grinned at Lin before continuing. "I proposed to Lin, we will be getting married."

"Spirits! I can't tell you how happy that makes me. I knew as long as you both were content with your love that you would be happy, which made me happy. But, I have to admit that I have always hoped for a day where Lin became my official daughter."

"Thank you Auntie. I- we are very happy. When we get settled, we'll figure things out. You'll be one of the first to know."

"I look forward to it! I love you both so much. Give Haru a kiss from his Gran-Gran."

"We love you too. Give Korra our best."

After saying goodbye, Lin left to go to Haru while Bumi called his brother and asked them to come for dinner tonight. Gave them more time to rest and get settled into a bit of a routine before the kids came over.


At around 4:30pm Bumi heard the sound of a bison grunting as it landed out back. He went to the back door and greeted the excited young airbenders.

"Uncle Bumi! Where is he? Where is he?" Ikki exclaimed excitedly.

"If only they were as excited for their own sibling." Pema quipped as she approached holding the 10 month old Rohan.

Bumi smirked at her. "Cousin's were always more exciting than your own siblings. Mostly because they didn't live with you. Take it from an older sibling." He winked before turning to the three excited kids. Jinora was doing her best to try and appear mature, but her excitement was showing through as she fidgeted. "Alright you three, you remember how you had to be quiet around Rohan when he was born. Same goes for Haru. He was still sleeping before I came to greet you. So quietly make your way to the living room."

The kids nodded and took off at a fast walk towards the living room. The three adults just shared an amused look before following them so that Lin wasn't left too long at the mercy of the three air kids.

Upon entering the living room, they found the three peering at the swaddled bundle in Lin's arms.

"He is so tiny." Jinora said softly. "May I hold him?" The 11 year old asked, looking up at Lin.

Lin nodded. "Alright, come sit beside me."

Jinora sat on the couch beside Lin and waited patiently as her aunt placed the baby in her arms.

"Hi Haru, I'm your cousin Jinora." The baby was sleeping, but she didn't care. "He is so cute, Aunt Lin."

Lin smiled softly at the girl. Her hair had grown out a couple inches in the last three months. She had been adamant that she wanted to grow her hair back out. Tenzin had just allowed it, since she now was a master in her own right.

"Can I go next? Please Aunt Lin?" Lin turned to see Ikki giving her a hopeful, wide eyed look.

"Yes, give your sister a few minutes, then you can have a turn, followed by Meelo. By then your Aunt Kya and the others should be back from picking up dinner."

Soon enough, Ikki and Jinora switched places. "He is so light compared to Rohan." Ikki commented.

"Your brother is also almost 11 months older." Pema reminded her daughter.

"Do you think he will be an airbender like us?" Ikki asked, looking up at Lin.

Lin shrugged. "We won't know for a while yet. Each child displays their bending at different ages. I was a year-and-a-half, whereas my sister was almost 3 years old before she showed her bending. Some take even longer."

"All of you were also at different times. Jinora was just shy of 2 years and Ikki you were around 3 years. Meelo on the other hand, we noticed it very quickly." Pema had a slightly pained expression on her face. "He has also been very gassy, as we all know."

Lin snorted, as Bumi guffawed, "that's my boy," and ruffled Meelo's hair. Meelo just snickered as Tenzin sighed, but the master airbender had an amused twinkle in his eyes.

"Here's hoping that is just a Meelo thing and not genetics from Uncle Aang." Lin quipped, with a smirk on her face. Lin took Haru from Ikki, but upon glancing at Meelo she grimaced as she saw him pick his nose. "Meelo, you will go wash your hands before you hold Haru. You should not be picking your nose."

"Yes Ma'am!" Meelo saluted her and zoomed out of the room to go wash his hands. Tenzin followed to make sure he did it properly.

When they came back and Tenzin gave an affirmative nod, Lin allowed Meelo to hold Haru.

Meelo peered down at the younger boy on his lap. "Why's his head shaped weird? And his skin is kinda splotchy."

Pema came to the rescue before Lin could answer with an admittedly more graphic response. "Meelo, when babies are born they are squeezed out a smaller hole, so their heads adjust to help them come out. It will take a few days to round out again. Haru's isn't even too bad, you were worse when you were born. And his skin will even out soon as well. He has to adjust to being in the outside world and not inside Aunt Lin."

Meelo just nodded like he understood, but Lin didn't think he fully did. "Okay, I'm done. Can I go play outside?"

Lin picked up Haru and settled him against her chest, amused at the 6 year old's short attention span. Haru curled up and let out a sigh, making a little grunting noise as he settled against his mother.

Tenzin and Bumi took Meelo and Ikki outside to race with air scooters, while Lin, Pema, and Jinora talked quietly inside.


"Zaofu Communications Tower, how may I direct your call?"

"This is Suyin Beifong, I would like to speak with my husband Baatar."

"Right away Ma'am. I will see if he is in his office first…" The line was held for a moment. "Alright, I will patch you through, one moment."

"Hello?"

"Hi sweetie."

"Su, how is everything going? How is Lin?"

"We have a nephew! He was born last night. Lin and baby Haru are doing well."

"That's wonderful, my love. I will let the boys know when we are done speaking."

"Do you think you could all come for a day to meet him? I know with everything going on in our city, that it isn't the best timing, but I would really like you to meet our nephew and for the boys to meet their cousin."

"As long as we are quick, I think it should be doable. We could take an airship right away, and we can return home tomorrow evening. I assume you will also be returning too, now that Lin gave birth?"

Su sighed partially in relief that they would come, and partially in annoyance that she couldn't stay longer. "Yes I will return with you tomorrow night."

"It'll be alright, my gem. I'm going to let you go so the boys and I can get ready. I love you."

"I love you too. I will see you soon."

Su hung up and sighed again. She pushed down the well of sadness that threatened to drown her and focused on the fact that her husband and three youngest boys were coming to meet her new nephew. She honestly felt like she was living a dream. Just 6 months ago, she and her sister still had nothing to do with each other, and now so much has happened in the last 5 months - they had reunited, fought a terrorist group, and now she was an Aunt for the first time at 46.

She shook her head and stood from Tenzin's desk and set out to spend the day with her daughter.


It was late morning the next day when Su and her family showed up at Lin and Bumi's house.

Bumi greeted them at the door like he had his family the day before. "Hey guys, welcome. Come on in. Lin is just finishing feeding Haru and will be down shortly. Would any of you like a drink?"

The family made their way to the living room and Bumi brought out a tea service that had already been prepped as they had known they were coming.

"How was your trip?" Bumi asked Baatar.

"The weather was good, so it was a fairly uneventful trip. Would've been quieter without the twins, of course, but what can you do?"

"Hey!" Wing called out.

"We resent that! Not our fault you and Huan just want to sketch quietly." Wei said, pouting.

Su laughed at her boys. "Now, now dears, your father is just teasing you. He secretly loves your boisterous personalities."

Baatar just smiled in amusement, not confirming nor denying his wife's words.

"Hey, sorry about not being down here to greet you." Lin said walking into the room with Haru against her shoulder.

"Nonsense Lin, a baby needs to eat. Now let me see my nephew again." Su held out her arms.

Lin rolled her eyes at her sister, but gently handed Haru over. She then went and sat next to Bumi, who wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Hello Haru. Oh look at those cute little blue eyes. Our first blue eyed Beifong!" Su cooed at him, while caressing his chubby newborn cheeks. "Oh Baatar, remember when our babies were this teeny tiny. Makes you miss the cuddles."

"I hope you are not hoping for more love, I plan on any future baby snuggles being Haru or our future grandchildren."

Su laughed lightly. "Don't worry dear, the feeling is mutual. Still doesn't change the fact I miss this. Here love, come meet your nephew." Su then handed Baatar little Haru.

Baatar accepted the baby like a pro - he was a father of five after all. "Hello little Haru. It is nice to meet you." He had to admit, he agreed with his wife that he missed the infant stage. Especially with Junior having left as he had, it makes him yearn for simpler times.

After a little bit, Haru was placed in Huan's hands, who looked very awkward holding the infant. Haru was quickly passed on to Wei, though Huan could admit his cousin was cute.

Wei and Wing were enamored with their little cousin. "Oooh! I hope he is an earthbender. We can teach him how to play powerdisc and-"

"If he is an earthbender, you will do no such thing until he is a teenager, and has a good grasp on his bending. Understood?"

"Yes Aunt Lin."

Lin did find it amusing how the two 15 year olds doted on the 36 hour old infant. Opal finally was able to steal Haru from Wing.

"Hey, no fair! You are going to get to see him all the time." Wing pouted.

"Too bad for you. I'm playing the older sibling card. And I want snuggles." Opal smirked at her brother before cuddling Haru in her arms. His eyes were starting to droop, and soon closed as he fell asleep. "Awe, sweet little thing."

"Oh Lin, Bumi, I hear another set of congratulations are in order. It will be nice not to be the only man married into the Beifong family."

Bumi smiled and pressed a kiss to Lin's cheek, causing a light blush to dust her cheeks. "Thanks Baatar. You'll have to give me pointers on taking on the Beifong name."

Lin frowned in confusion and turned to Bumi. "Wait, you want to take my last name?"

"Well yeah. I want people to know I am yours. Plus I don't have one, so I thought it would be fun."

Lin smiled at him.

"Please don't start kissing in front of us. It's bad enough when Mom and Dad do it." Wei said, sticking his tongue out in disgust. Wing had a similar expression on his face.

Huan and Opal just rolled their eyes at their brother, while their parents and Bumi laughed. Lin blushed a little, while sending a scolding look at the boys. The boys just shot her cheeky smiles, causing her to roll her eyes, but her lips quirked slightly letting on that she was amused.

'I'm so glad this isn't a dream. I could get used to this.' Su thought, smiling at her family. She only wished that her eldest could be here too.