Disclaimer: Many parts of this chapter are taken right from the transcripts of Legend of Korra. Credit goes to the writers.

From here on out there will be more of a Canon Diversion than there has been so far.

I hope you enjoy this chapter.


When morning came, they were all quiet. Lin set about making tea, while Opal dug out fruit and some sweet buns Bumi had thoughtfully packed for them.

Lin was surprised Bolin was keeping quiet, but she was thankful he finally read the situation correctly. He gave her an apologetic smile, which she gave a small one in return, forgiving him for yesterday evening's questioning. There was definitely a long conversation to be had, but she recognized he was trying, so she would too. She patted him on the shoulder before going to scan the factory below with her spyglass.

Finally they got ready to leave, making sure everything was packed onto Juicy so they were ready for a quick get away.

Opal took off to scan the area above, taking a two-way radio with her, while the three earthbenders made their way to the side of the factory. They took down three of Kuvira's guards when they arrived at the side.

"The test is about to start. They're going to blow up that empty town we flew over yesterday. You're clear to go." Came Opal's voice over the radio.

Lin spoke into the receiver of her own radio, "copy that." She turned to the other two. "We're clear to go."

Toph bent a hole into the ground and the three of them jumped into it, closing it behind them. They tunneled their way to the cavern below and bent an opening so they could view into the cavern.

Inside they were met with a giant wooden crate suspended in the air, and where Su, Baatar, Huan, Wei, and Wing were being held.

Toph motioned with her head toward the door off to the side of the cavern. "The guards are on the other side of that door. We'll have to be quiet."

Lin noticed Su had seen them and was letting her boys know, which caused them to also turn to look. "Shoot me over to the cage and I can swing them back on my cable." She turned to face Bolin. "Bolin, you'll have to catch them since mom won't be able to see them." Bolin nodded and Lin was grateful that he was reliable in tough situations. She bent down bracing herself to be catapulted across. "Ready?"

Toph walked to the other side of Lin. She and Bolin both earthbent a rock column that propelled Lin into the air, who landed on top of the wooden cage. Lin tried to land softly, but it still made the wooden cage shake and the occupants within to grunt at the sudden movement.


She ducked down and held her breath as she heard the door to the cavern burst open and a guard looked up at the shaking wooden cage suspiciously. It stilled and the guard turned around to leave, closing the door behind him. Lin let out a shaky breath and used her bending to call out the metal blade from her arm cuffs. She quickly cleaved an opening on the top of the cage, trying to be as quiet as possible.

She looked over to see her mother had reopened the wall opening, after having closed it after they had launched her. Once she saw Bolin take his place, ready to catch the family, she pulled the last piece free.

Lin peered down into the cage below. "We'll get you out one at a time. Come on."

They started with Wei, then Wing and Huan. All of whom Bolin easily caught.

Lin went to retrieve Baatar next, when she saw he had pinned himself to a corner of the cage. She held in the eye roll she wanted to let loose.

"Sweetie, it'll be fine. Lin won't drop you and Bolin will catch you." Su tried to reassure her husband.

Baatar shook his head, and Lin could see sweat forming on his brow even in the low lighting. "No, no. Just go. Just leave me. I'll stay here." He closed eyes.

Lin gave Su a pointed look, and Su responded by shrugging. Turning back to Baatar, Lin tried to give a reassuring smile, but she was sure it looked more like a grimace. "Sorry, but I have to do this."

She metalbent a cable around Baatar's right leg and brought him out of the cage. Unfortunately, this meant he was swinging upside down, which caused him to scream as he flew through the air towards Bolin. Lin internally winced as she knew they had been caught now.

Sure enough, the noise alerted the guard, who activated an alarm. A mecha tank stepped behind him to assist.

Thankfully Baatar was now in Bolin's arms, so Lin and Su could concentrate on themselves. Lin quickly helped Su to the top of the cage.

Unfortunately, the mecha tank used its flamethrower at them. Lin looked around quickly to assess the situation. She then used her metal cables to sever two of the ropes keeping the cage suspended, which caused the cage to swing to the side of the cavern where the rest of their family had landed. The sisters both leapt from the cage, landing safely with the others.

Bolin bent the wall closed as Su hugged Toph. He then grabbed the radio off the ground, "we got 'em. We're coming out." He said to Opal.

Lin started to tunnel back up and away from the cavern. She was helped quickly by Bolin and Su. They quickly broke through the surface and took in their surroundings before the whole group emerged. Lin closed the hole once everyone exited from underground.

Opal, glided down to meet them and pulled out her bison whistle to summon Juicy.

"Mom! Dad!" Opal cried out, hugging both of them. She then turned to hug Bolin, obviously forgiving him.

Lin interrupted her niece's reunion with Bolin, again. "Let's move." She said urgently.

Opal turned to her aunt. "Kuvira caught Zhu Li and threw her in the town."

"What? No, I have to go save her." Bolin said, standing up fully from his crouched position.

Lin shook her head. "You can't go in there, kid. It's suicide. Kuvira's onto us. Think about Mako and-"

Bolin also shook his head, interrupting her. "We've been through too much together. I can't leave her. Toph, you said Zhu Li was lying about fixing the cannon. She must have been trying to stop it."

Toph shrugged. "For all you know, she could just have been covering her butt because she made a mistake."

"No, Zhu Li doesn't make mistakes. You guys leave. If we make it out, we'll make it to the city somehow." Bolin was adamant, Lin had to give him credit for standing up to both herself and her mother, admittedly two of the most stubborn earthbenders out there.

"Bolin, no!" Opal said, before she turned to see Juicy fly in. She then airbent herself onto Juicy. "You guys get out of here. I have to go with Bolin." He used an earth column to get on the back of the bison, joining Opal. They quickly flew off, leaving the rest of the family.

Su turned to Lin, who could tell what her sister was going to say before it even came out. "Could be our best chance to stop Kuvira."

Lin took a moment to think of their options, before agreeing. "Maybe take out that weapon."

Wing quickly added in, "we can't let Opal be the coolest!"

"If you all want to get yourselves captured again or worse, that's your business. I'm through." Toph said gruffly.

Su placed hand on their mother's back. "Watch out for Baatar Sr. and Huan." Before she, Lin, and the twins headed off to face Kuvira.


The four Beifong's together created a line of raised earth and rocks to pummel the side of the giant cannon, which knocked the blast off course. They then started defending themselves against the soldiers who appeared, and returned fire. Bending rock after rock, and dodging the ones thrown at them.

They quickly bent a huge wall up to protect themselves from an incoming barrage of projectiles. Su ran off soon after to confront Kuvira on the platform, while Lin and the twins continued to throw boulders at the soldiers from around their protective wall.

Lin used her seismic sense and could see Su was about to be thrown from the cannon platform.

"Boys, one of you go help your mother get back here, we'll cover you." She called out. She then bent the earth around to make the wall surround them completely so that their backs were covered.

They quickly did as she said, Wei ran off and helped pick his mother up from where she was thrown. He then bent his cable towards an opening in the wall that Lin and Wing had made. Wing bent his own cable to wrap around his brothers to pull them behind the wall again. Lin earthbent the wall back up once they were behind it.

The walls crumbled down, and they were surrounded by troops and mecha tanks. Lin felt a sliver of fear worm its way into her gut. They were trapped, and even after scanning the area, she was unsure how to get out of this situation. 'Why did I agree to Su's spur of the moment plan?'

Before they could be captured though, a rumble was felt and the earth beneath the soldiers and tanks shifted and knocked them all down. Lin and the other three turned around in surprise and she realized her mother had returned to save them. She was accompanied by Baatar, Huan, Juicy, Opal, Bolin, and Zhu Li.

Toph pointed in Kuvira's general direction, eerily on point for someone unseeing. "You give metalbenders a bad name!" She called out, before Lin and the others rushed to join Opal, Bolin, Baatar Sr, and Huan on the back of Juicy.

Lin kept her eyes on the fallen soldiers and Kuvira, to make sure they didn't try attacking again before they made it into the air. Thankfully, they all still seemed stunned. She was relieved that they were able to get out, and she would soon see Haru and Bumi. She fiddled with her ring, as she waited for everyone to settle and Opal to take off.

Once they were in the air and the adrenaline wore off, Lin could feel her mind going foggy. She gripped onto the person next to her as she felt the world spinning, trying to steady herself as she felt suddenly nauseous.

"Lin?" She heard someone call. Before she could respond she leant over Juicy's saddle and brought up the small amount she ate for breakfast. She groaned at the waves of nausea. The next 15 minutes were spent with her gagging over the side of the saddle, even without anything more coming up. When finished, she didn't have time to feel embarrassed as she slumped sideways, losing consciousness.

Su rushed forward to catch her sister. "Lin? Come on, wake up." She tried patting her sister's cheek, with no response. She quickly checked to make sure her sister was breathing and sighed in relief that she was.

"Sorry Mom, we can't stop to drop you off, you will be coming with us to Air Temple Island. We need to get her to Kya. Opal, fly Juicy as fast as you can."

Bolin moved over to help her. "Maybe we should take her armour off?"

Before Su could speak, her mother interrupted. "No. We don't know what has caused this, so until we are with a healer, her armour stays. We can't risk removing it, it could be what is keeping pressure on what is wrong."

Su nodded with what her mother was saying. "Grab a blanket from the pack, Bolin. We can at least keep her warm."

He grabbed the blanket from the packed bags at the back. He turned to the younger Beifong sister. "Here, let me hold her at least. Being part fire nation and a lavabender helps me run warmer than others."

He held Lin's prone body in his arms, Huan throwing the blanket over her. To say that Bolin was scared shitless was an understatement. He had just gotten used to having her as a mother figure to him, and was upset with himself for taking off to aid Kuvira instead of staying and learning with Lin. He knew now that he should have listened to Lin when she told him Kuvira was bad news… and now he was kicking himself for everything he said to her. She had promised to try and teach him metalbending or to at least guide him as he furthered his knowledge in lavabending. But he chose to leave her, and the others. Not to mention how much time he had missed in Haru's life already. He vowed to apologize properly the first chance he gets, never once doubting that he wouldn't get that chance.

The long flight was silent, everyone not knowing what to say as they were all anxious about Lin.

It was in the early hours of the morning when they arrived. Opal, once landing Juicy, dashed off quickly to wake up Kya and then Bumi.

Su helped Bolin get Lin down safely and they headed to Katara's old healing room. Toph, Baatar and the boys followed behind. Zhu Li tagged along at a much slower pace, not wanting to intrude on the family matter, but unsure of where she should go, especially at this time of night.

Bolin set Lin down gently on the bed. A few moments later, Kya came running into the room in a night dress with a robe haphazardly thrown over top.

"What happened?" Kya asked as she started looking over Lin visually. "Bolin, get a bowl of water." He quickly ran to the side of the room where the sink is and filled a large bowl with water from the tap.

"We were fighting Kuvira and her troops. We got out, but she started vomiting shortly after we left on Juicy and then she collapsed right after. I didn't see if she got hit or not." Su replied.

"I don't think she got hit. Wing and I were with her the whole time," Wei said from his spot just inside the door.

Su's eyes widened as she recalled the last time this happened. "Kya… You don't think it could be the same as last time? I mean she has to be too old now right?"

Kya looked up at Su with concern, before turning to the others. "I need you all to leave. Send only Bumi in when he gets here."

"What are you two talking about? This has happened before?" Toph asked insistently.

"Aunt Toph, please. I need you to leave so that I can check Lin. We will all speak after."

Wing and Wei each took one of the grandmother's arms in theirs and helped guide her out of the room. She didn't argue for once, but Su knew as soon as they were done in here, she would demand answers.

"Please bend her armour off Su."

Su quickly followed direction, sending the armour to rest against the wall.

Kya then drew some water to check for injuries.

The door slammed open and closed with Bumi rushing in. "What happened, is Lin okay?" He came to a stop beside Su on Lin's left side, kneeling on the ground.

Su placed a hand on his shoulder. "She collapsed on the way back. She seemed fine until we got onto Opal's bison. Kya is just checking now to see if she got any injuries while we fought off Kuvira's guards even though the twins said they didn't see her get hit."

Bumi nodded, abnormally quiet, he just picked up Lin's and held her smaller hand in both of his large ones.

Kya finally checked what Su and her suspected and was startled to realize their guess was correct. She frowned though.

"Bumi, quick, I need you to put her in the tub behind you. Now!" Kya said urgently.

Bumi did as he was told, gently lifting his love and placing her in the quickly summoned water.

Kya then started bending the water in the tub to glow with its healing power. After a tense half hour of nothing but Kya bending healing over Lin's abdomen, Kya put her arms down with a sigh.

"They are both okay now." She smiled tiredly to her brother and Su.

Bumi gave his sister a big hug, before pulling back once he had realized her words. "They? What do you mean Ky?"

"It means our little Linny seems to be expecting again."

"What?" Bumi looked over to Lin's prone figure in the tub. "She's okay right? T-they both are?"

"I'm not going to lie Bumi, it was a fairly close call there. She almost miscarried." He felt like he couldn't breathe. "But I was able to stop that. They will be fine as long as she stays on bedrest for the next few weeks when I will reassess fully to determine if she will need to stay on or can do light activities."

"But with Kuvira still out there and most likely to attack the city, I doubt she will." Su said anxiously.

"She will. I will ensure that. She can hate me all she wants, but I know it will kill her if she allows something to happen to the baby." Bumi said as he stepped forward and knelt beside his love, taking her hand in his again. "When should she wake up?"

"Probably in a few hours. I could always use smelling salts, but it is best for her to awaken naturally."

Bumi nodded. "Can I move her to our room or should she stay here?"

Kya thought for a moment. "I think that will be fine as she would be more comfortable, but I will be by in two hours to check on her just to make sure everything is still okay."

Bumi smiled gratefully at his sister. He stood up and then leaned down to pick Lin up out of the tub. Kya bent the water from her clothes and hair, then set about tidying up the room and grabbing Lin's chart from the cabinet, intending to write down the new findings.

Su went ahead of Bumi and opened the door. They walked past the family, including an awoken Tenzin and Pema, who were restlessly waiting for news. Bumi gave Bolin, Mako, and Asami (who Pema had woken up as they had also been on the Island that night. Her attempts to wake Korra were met with snores) a brief smile to let them know she was relatively okay, before continuing to the stairs and up to their room.

Su opened their door quietly so as to hopefully not wake Haru in his cot. But the little boy was sprawled across his mattress, blanket half off the bed, and thumb in his mouth. Bum-Ju was curled up beside him, sleeping too.

Bumi quietly placed Lin on the bed, of which Su had pulled back the blanket.

Su quickly grabbed a night dress out for Lin as it would be easier to get on her than her typical pajamas. Bumi silently thanked her and she left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Bumi made quick work on Lin's clothes and redressed her before tucking the blanket around her.

He then turned to his son and gently tucked the blanket around him that had been falling off. After placing a quick kiss to the top of his head and giving Bum-Ju a soft pet on his spirit-furred head, he went around to his side of the bed and climbed in. He pulled Lin into his arms, his hand coming to rest on her flat stomach. He couldn't believe they were about to do this again. He could only hope Lin didn't kill him.


When Su entered the living room she was bombarded with questions. She sighed. "She will be fine. But it is not up to Kya or I to say anything about what is going on. We should all go-"

"Why exactly was Bumi allowed into the exam room but not me? I am her mother" Toph demanded, cutting Su off.

"Maybe it's the fact that you haven't been in her life in 20 years." Mako said, as he crossed his arms and glared at her.

Toph turned to 'look' at him, returning the glare. "And who do you think you are to talk to me this way?"

"Someone who obviously cares and loves her more than you." Mako ignored Bolin's anxious looks between the original Beifong and himself. Asami on the other hand had also crossed her arms and was glaring at Toph, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

"Kid, we don't have time for your silly little crush." Toph scoffed.

"You don't have the right to speak to him like that." Asami said. "Everyone in this room cares for Mo… Lin." Asami was internally shocked that she almost called Lin, Mom, when she didn't think she would be able to call her that. She pushed that thought aside for now, deciding to examine her feelings towards that later.

Toph just waved her hand, done with speaking to these kids. "So why hasn't Bumi returned from where he took Lin?"

Su sighed, fingers massaging her temples. "Mother, you should already know the answer from your beloved swamp vines. They are together. He took her to bed and is staying to make sure she is okay until Kya goes to check on her. Now if you are done with the questioning, it has been a long few days and I am sure my family and I could do with a proper bed to sleep in."

Tenzin and Pema had already arranged sleeping quarters for everyone, so Pema started guiding Su's family to their rooms. Zhu Li had already retired to the room she was provided earlier.

"Aunt Toph, we have gotten mother's room ready for you as we are a little full at the moment. Shall I show you there?" Tenzin asked.

"Fine Twinkles Junior." She allowed herself to take his arm as the wooden floors meant she truly was blind to her surroundings.

When they reached the room, Tenzin guided her into it. He showed her to the dresser, and which drawer had nightclothes in it. "Mom has some clothes here you could borrow for tonight. I am sure someone can run out in the morning to get you some properly fitting clothes. Is there anything else you need right now?"

Toph paused for a moment. "Do you think she is really okay?"

"Su, while looking a little worried, did look like she meant what she said about Lin being fine. We'll just have to give it a little bit for them to tell us what is going on themselves."

Toph nodded. She barely heard Tenzin bid her goodnight before leaving. She opened the drawer and felt the nightgowns inside, before scoffing and shutting the drawer. 'I am so not wearing Sugar Queen's clothes. My tunic is perfectly fine.' She felt her way over to the bed and collapsed onto it. The events of the last couple days confused her and plagued her thoughts as she drifted off to sleep.


A/N:

Anybody else see that plot twist happening? I had it planned from the beginning.

In real life, while still rare some of the oldest naturally conceived mothers were/are about 55/56 at the oldest and Lin is 54, so it's definitely plausible. Also, I will bring it up later between characters, but I think there are so many things possible in this universe - Kyoshi lived to 230, and with Lin being a strong Earthbender too...

Also, I loved writing Mako standing up to Toph. What a good son