Lin is told the plans of how Tulok and Yakone will be handled and what her involvement will be.
Later she will attempt to overcome her anxiety to make sure her children are happy, all the while Toph and her friends make a visit downtown Republic City.
A/N: Sorry this is a day late. I did update on Instagram (username is Jade_Lotus394) so definitely follow there for more updates. I had a bad migraine Thursday that prevented me from finishing the chapter.
**There will be two more chapters before I go on a couple week hiatus. I will NOT be posting on Oct 21 or 28 as I will be on vacation**
Same day; afternoon
Lin had convinced her Aunt Katara to allow her to help with dinner that night. The repetitive and familiar motions of preparing the vegetables and prepping the meat was soothing for her. Especially after the emotional turmoil of the last five days.
After lunch earlier, her mother, Sokka, Aang, Katara, and Zuko took her to Katara's office. Lin had entrusted her children into the care of Kya and Bumi, who at the moment, were the only other two who she completely felt okay with leaving her babies with at the moment.
Lin was seated on the couch in Katara's office with her mother and Katara on either side of her. Zuko and Aang were seated on the chairs that usually sat across from Katara's desk, while Sokka was perched on the edge of his sister's desk. Lin could tell it bothered her aunt, but Katara was holding in her contempt. She wanted to feel the amusement that panged through her, but her anxiety was sitting so heavy in her that she couldn't focus on any other emotion.
"Lin, we wanted to speak with you a little bit about what is going to happen now." Aang started, voice soft and steady.
Lin swallowed, a ball of apprehension growing in her chest.
Her mother placed her hand on Lin's knee, giving some warmth to Lin's rapidly freezing body. "Not today, but sometime in the next week or so, you will be required to come down to the precinct to give a statement of what has happened. I will not be able to do the questioning, but if you want I can be in the room with you."
Lin froze at the thought of having to speak to someone about everything.
She startled slightly when Katara placed a gentle hand over her clasped ones, stopping her from the anxious wringing of her hands. "We'll be with you every step of the way, sweetie."
"And we hate to ask you to do it, but they need to face justice for what they have done. Removing their bending is not enough of a punishment for what they took away from you." Zuko added, his voice soft, but his eyes alight with held back anger.
Lin shakily nodded her head. She did understand, but she knew that this was going to be extremely difficult and painful.
"I've made a call this morning to my lawyer's office. They will come by before you speak with one of my officers. We are going to do our best to keep this as smooth of a process as possible for you, badgermole." Toph lifted her hand from Lin's lap and lightly traced up her side to cup Lin's face. Her own face became even softer at feeling a tear slip from Lin's eye. "I'm sorry that we have to ask you to relive it."
"I just want to forget." Lin whispered, brokenly.
Toph pulled her into her arms. "I know, baby, I know. We wish we didn't have to put you through this. You understand why though right? We need to make sure that we do this all legally and by the book."
Lin nodded as she felt sobs escape her. At this point she gave up attempting to hold back tears. They seemed inevitable at this point.
After they allowed Lin to calm down again, Sokka spoke. "We wanted to let you know that the five of us," he gestured to the others in the room, "will be paying a visit to the precinct tonight. We have some… words… to discuss with them."
"You're leaving?" Lin asked. The others though could tell she really meant 'you're leaving me?'
"We won't be gone for more than two or three hours. Kya and the rest of the family will stay here with you." Katara answered gently. "We can check in on you when we return if you would like?"
Lin nodded her head against her mother's shoulder once more.
"Lin… Lin… Lin?"
Lin startled and almost nicked her finger with the knife. She dropped it quickly and spun around, eyes wide. "Sorry, sorry. I won't get distracted again!" She said quickly with a grimace, her eyes shutting tightly as if preparing for a smack to her face. Both hands rested on her belly to protect her unborn child.
She braced for impact as the person neared. "Shh… sweetie, it's Katara. You're on Air Temple Island."
Lin blinked and her aunt's figure appeared before her with a look of concern on her face. She flushed instantly at getting so lost in her thoughts that she became unaware of her surroundings.
"S-sorry."
"It's okay, Lin dear. I was just checking on you cause I noticed you had spaced out for a bit." Katara said softly, a warm smile on her face, hoping to reassure Lin.
"Right, of course. I j-just got lost in my thoughts." Lin brushed her hair loopie back a little from her face with her one hand, while her other still stayed protectively over her bump.
"That's alright, love." Katara replied. "Would you like a hug?"
Lin was grateful that her aunt asked first. With that question, Lin quickly nodded, realizing she craved human connection more than she ever thought she would. As an older child and into her teenage years, she had begun shying away from long hugs and other physical affections her family would try to bestow, because she had wanted to prove that she was grown. She had had it in her mind that she would follow in her mothers footsteps into the Police Force, and in order to do so she needed to be tough, resilient, and aloof; to grow a thick layer of skin.
But that all changed on that fateful day. She was suddenly thrust into a reality where, yes, she wouldn't have much physical affection, and what she did get was tainted - a farce of the real thing meant to hurt her further.
Until her children came, touch became painful no matter if it was a punch or a caress. Her children brought her so much comfort over the years, but it was not the same as having arms surrounding you that made you feel safe and loved.
Katara's arms wrapped around Lin in a firm, yet gentle embrace, and Lin welcomed the warmth that filled her mind, body, and soul.
"Why don't you have a seat, and I will get you some tea?" Katara asked as she eventually pulled back and gently wiped Lin's tears away.
"But what about dinner?" Lin asked, ready to insist on helping.
"Nonsense, it will be fine. The soup is on to simmer and the roast is in the oven. We've got a good half hour to enjoy some quiet time before we need to steam the vegetables and dumplings." Katara answered, ushering Lin to the small table in the kitchen that was pushed against the wall. It had three chairs, and Lin was promptly seated in one.
Katara used her bending to heat the water to a boil before pouring it into the already prepared pot.
The next hour went by quickly, and their quiet little bubble popped once they sat down for dinner. The kids, having gotten to know the others, had lost their shyness - well the three youngest had. Nuna was always her quiet one anyways.
Lin watched in fondness as her babies were carefree at dinner for the first time in their life. Dinner with him had never been this lively. Lunch, when it was just Lin and the kids, was usually their 'fun' meal as Amaruq once described it. The kids were usually well behaved, but they were even better around their father. He always insisted on them sitting right and eating properly; wanting quieter conversations at the table. But Lin had grown up with Bumi, Kya, and Suyin - the three were social butterflies, who made most meals chaotic. So Lin made a point to only interfere if there were arguments or if she noticed they weren't eating, and would gently redirect them.
"Mama?"
"Hmm? Yes, little wolf?" Lin asked, looking across the table to Amaruq, who was giving her an excited look.
"Uncle Tenny said he has a sky bison like Appa. Can I go with him to see him? Please?"
Lin swallowed, fear gripping her heart. It wasn't that she didn't trust Tenzin, but this was her baby. She wasn't comfortable leaving him with just anyone right now.
Kya leant over from her spot beside Lin, and whispered in her ear. "You are comfortable with Bumi, so why don't you have him go with them. Bumi won't say no."
Lin met Kya's warm, reassuring azure eyes - just that look filled Lin with a comfort she didn't realize she needed in that moment. She quickly weighed the words that the waterbender suggested, before nodding in agreement.
"Alright, my wolf, but only if your brother and Uncle Bumi go too." Lin replied, giving her son a smile.
"Yes! Uncle Tenny, did you hear?"
"Iroh and Baatar will have to join us, and we'll make a proper guy's night!" Bumi said with a wide grin on his face.
Baatar seemed to choke on his drink at being included. Su patted his back, while whispering to him that he should join.
"Mama, can we go a guy's night too?" Tayen asked, as she pouted at not being included.
"Oh I have just the thing!" Ty Lee said excitedly, before looking at Lin just as pleadingly as the girl almost 55 years her junior. "Please Lin?"
Lin blushed a little at the attention. A calming hand placed on her knee from Kya helped her relax. Finally she nodded, causing Ty Lee and Tayen to cry out in excitement at the thought of a fun night. From the corner of her eye, she saw Suki give Ty Lee an exasperated, yet loving look. Lin frowned a little, unsure if she was just seeing things, or if in the last decade another relationship had formed.
Eventually dinner was finished and Lin kissed her boys. She reminded them to be good for Bumi and the others, but also urged them to have fun.
While Mai, Ty Lee and Poppy took Nuna and Tayen to set up the living room, Suyin and Suki took the remaining dishes to the kitchen to wash up. This left Lin flanked by Kya and Izumi as they bid their parents goodbye.
It was a teary goodbye, even though Lin logically knew that they would return in a few hours. But her mind decided to ignore proper thought processes.
After their parents left, it took another 10 minutes for Lin to feel calm enough to join the others in the living room.
Upon arriving, the three found the room redecorated with pillows and blankets. A hearty fire was dancing in the fireplace, and the others had switched into their pajamas and dressing gowns. Upon insistence from Tayen, Lin made the long trek upstairs to change. By the time she finally made it back down, there were bowls of snacks and tea on the table. As well, it seemed Ty Lee had brought a mountain of skin care supplies with her.
Lin swallowed past the anxiety, and tried to enjoy the excitement her daughters were showing as the grey eyed Kyoshi warrior showed them how to apply a face mask. Her blue eyed counterpart already had her mask on, having been applying creams and paint to her face for most of her life, and was having a quiet conversation with Mai and Poppy.
She met Kya's eyes and once the waterbender patted the seat beside her, Lin made her way over, careful not to trip on a stray pillow or blanket. It was much harder to do when she couldn't see her feet. But she eventually made it, and with a relieved sigh, sank onto the couch cushions and pillows.
Somehow Kya talked her into a face mask, as Izumi gave her a pedicure. The firebender's warm hands soothed the aches in her feet that she hadn't even noticed until that moment.
"Would you like me to take your hair out of the tight braids Lin? I can rebraid it into a looser style for bed later." Kya offered as she wiped her hands of the mask remnants.
Lin bit her lip for a moment before nodding, thankful that the mask covered the way her face flushed. Kya truly had magic fingers whenever she played with Lin's hair when they were younger. This morning proved that she still had the magic touch.
Sure enough between the pedicure and the head massage, Lin closed her eyes in contentment. She could hear her daughter's giggles and chatter with Ty Lee and Su, and the quieter conversations between Mai, Suki, and her grandmother. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so relaxed. She drifted off a little as she felt a comforting movement of the baby within her, them both being lulled into a nap.
The door slammed open, and the officer just inside stood up. "Chief Beifong." He greeted her, before bowing to the others who stood behind her. "Avatar Aang, Firelord Zuko, Master Katara, Councilman Sokka." He greeted each one in turn, receiving nods of greeting in return. It was unusual to see all of them with such murderously grim expressions of anger on their faces. Especially the Avatar's.
"Bao." Toph replied with a nod. "Talk to me."
"The two prisoners are the only ones on this floor. We've kept them on completely different ends, so they can't even talk with each other. Only our trusted officers have been up here as of yet."
"Good. Now go out and guard the stairwell. I want no one to enter this floor until I leave."
Bao didn't even question his Chief for a moment. "Yes, Chief."
"Just don't do anything drastic Toph. We need them both alive." Aang quietly reminded her once the man had gotten out of hearing distance.
"Oh don't worry, twinkletoes, they will still both be breathing." She replied, a twisted grin on her face. "I'm thinking the old man can wait. I need to have a little word with the sicko in cell 10."
She then took off at a fast pace down the one corridor till she made it to the barred cell. The others were left trying to catch up. By the time they did, Toph already had the door unlocked with her bending and was striding into the room.
"What do you want?" Tulok asked as he stood up from his cot. "Come to gloat that I don't have bending anymore?"
"That should be the least of your concerns right now." Toph had both of her hands behind her back, putting on a front that she used often as the Chief of Police. Her hands though, were unusually tightened into fists. She shifted her foot, and the stone beneath him rose to lock his feet into place. She strode forward. "I want to know why." She demanded.
"Why what? Why we chose her? Why I married her? Bred her to have my children?" He sneered a smug grin at her. "Why don't you ask me how I had to break her? How she pleaded for me to not hurt her little sister. How she cried out in ecstasy when I finally broke her and she couldn't help herself anymore when I fucked her. She loved it. She was my little who-"
A sudden wack and simultaneously his feet were free of their restraints as a powerful fist smashed into his nose. He fell to the side, his head smacking off the stone floor.
A/N: Let me know what you think.
What do you want to happen with Tulok? And we can't forget that Yakone played a part in this too.